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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29612931">Blood in the Water</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NinjaSpaz/pseuds/NinjaSpaz'>NinjaSpaz</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Battle, Betrayal, Blood and Injury, Enemies to Friends, Haikyuu!! Big Bang 2020, Literal Ninja!Shouyou, M/M, Pirate Captain!Oikawa, Pirates vs Ninjas, Pirates vs Pirates, Torture, all the background ships, alternating pov, feral suga is best suga, i'm sorry iwa you know i love you right, oikawa and hinata spend far too much time thinking about how handsome the other one is, slight mutual pining, spot the rare pairs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 16:54:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>30,373</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29612931</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NinjaSpaz/pseuds/NinjaSpaz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>~Pirates and Ninja and Traitors, Oh My!~</p><p>Oikawa Tooru is the infamous captain of the pirate ship <em>Aoba Johsai</em>. After a fierce storm sends him veering into unfamiliar waters, he finds himself on the shore of an unknown island with a small landing party in search of supplies. What he does not expect to find is a rogue pacifist ninja with hair and eyes brighter than the sun. What he does not expect to find is the home base of his obstinate rival. What he does not expect to find is his crew captured and used as leverage to bend him to Ushijima’s demands. What he does not expect to find is a stalwart ally in Hinata’s unwavering optimism. </p><p>Sometimes blood feuds are overrated and the real enemy has always been at your side.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinata Shouyou/Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Sugawara Koushi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Haikyuu Big Bang 2020, Oikawa x Hinata Fanfictions</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Arrival</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Wow. After months of blood, sweat, and tears, I can't believe it's finally here. This fic has been a labor of love, taking two of my favorite boys and adapting them to an original au that is near and dear to my heart. Along the way, their friends made their stories known, too, and this became so much more than I could ever have dreamed. And speaking of friends, it would not have been the story it is without the help of some lovely people. <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/freolia">Cairda</a>, for always listening to me ramble about my headcanons and giving me fodder for side character motivations. <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltypeachylil">Lils</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellyfic">Noemie</a>, and <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdTree">Willow</a>, for being my hype beasts and keeping me focused when at times I just hated everything I was writing. The entire Big Bang Discord, for just being the friendliest, most entertaining people and being a bright spot in this otherwise bleak year. And of course, my lovely artists, <a href="https://twitter.com/Nen_K0">Nen</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/crystialice">Bella</a>, for bringing my fic to life.</p><p>I hope you enjoy this adventure-fantasy au! Just mind the tags, it does get violent a couple times. (I'll include additional warnings on chapters that require them!) Thank you all so much for your support!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The island loomed in the distance as the captain scanned the sandy shores with his spyglass. There was no movement as far as he could tell, no indications that it was inhabited, but the old wound in his knee twinged to remind him that appearances could be deceiving. The fresher wound in his first mate’s abdomen reminded him he didn’t have much of a choice about venturing into unknown waters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A light breeze washed over him, ruffling the collar of his navy blue coat. It gently danced with the loose queue of chestnut hair, secured at the nape of his neck by a leather thong, as he inhaled the salty air to calm his nerves. Oikawa Tooru was not a man to be intimidated by circumstances out of his control. He would not let his unease bleed off him to unsettle his crew, though he could sense their tension as much as he could feel the heat of the sun on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How bad is it?” he asked as his quartermaster climbed up the steps to the quarterdeck, knowing without even looking that the man’s thick eyebrows were pulled into a worrying frown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Matsukawa stood at his side, looking out over the railing towards the mysterious island. “We were already low on supplies,” he said, lips set in a grim expression. He ran a hand through his dark curls with a sigh before placing it on his hips. “Storm popped up so fast after our flight from Miyagi that we hadn’t secured the few casks we brought on. Makki says his medical supplies are gone too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa clenched his jaw at the news. He knew sailing into the area was ill-advised, but they’d needed a place to hide. “Did we lose anyone?” It had never happened before, they were always meticulous about securing their lifelines during rough weather, but given the eerie nature of the storm that had set them adrift, it would not surprise him to learn that they’d lost a man or two overboard in the maelstrom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Mattsun sighed with a grimace. “Which makes the situation even more dire. Not that I’d ever wish to lose anyone,” he hastened to add, “but with supplies already straining, a mouth or two less to account for would be a silver lining on a shitty situation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is why Hanamaki is our ship medic and not you,” Oikawa narrowed his eyes to the side. “Your bedside manner is atrocious.” The taller man shrugged. He was typically unbothered, and Oikawa knew he meant nothing by the observation. Part of his job was to ration their supplies and if that gave him a macabre sense of humor, well, Oikawa didn’t really blame him for it. “Can he make do with what he has?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Matsukawa rubbed the sweat from the back of his neck with a nervous hand. “I don’t know. If we were closer to port, maybe. This region is known for its medicinal herbs, though. He can probably find something on that island to help Iwaizumi survive until we can make port again.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both looked across the bay towards the innocuous shore. Land was dangerous for pirates at the best of times. They preferred the open water as much to avoid the authorities as to stave off attacks from their ancient foes. The storm had swept them right into ninja territory, albeit at the fringes of their ancestral holdings. No pirate was fool enough to sail too deep into these channels, but Oikawa found himself in turbulent waters with no oar to steer him. He was at the mercy of the goddess of the sea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go talk to him,” he sighed, sure of what Makki would say even without having to hear the words spoken aloud. Mattsun followed him to the main deck before breaking off to help Kyoutani with what supplies remained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iwa-chan was laid up in Oikawa’s cabin at the captain’s insistence. He kept a clean ship for the most part, but there was only so much one could do against the salt and the wet that seeped into the wooden floorboards and support beams. Illness could spread quickly in the stuffy crew quarters and no one wanted to risk Iwaizumi contracting an infection on top of everything else. He had grumbled about it the first time he woke up despite being too delirious to fight about it. The second time he came to he was a bit more aggressive about not wanting special treatment but between Oikawa and Suga, they convinced him it was in his best interest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that he could have moved far on his own. Makki had a very steady hand and was an excellent seamster, but the gaping wound in Iwaizumi’s stomach did not allow him much range of motion in his brief periods of consciousness. Oikawa was fairly certain it was Suga’s tearful concerns more than his own stilted orders that won the first mate over, but they got the desired result in the end.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sugawara was an excellent sailor. Every captain would be glad to have a crewman like Suga. He brought levity to the most dire situations and always approached things with a clear head. He had good rapport with everyone on board, and he could sweet talk a merchant like he was the one granting the seller a favor by taking the items off their hands at a fraction of their cost. Nothing ruffled his feathers and Oikawa relied on his stability in more situations than he could count. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had never seen him so stricken as the day they fled Miyagi.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were all aware of the risks of making landfall, even in the few ports that would grant them safe harbor, but Miyagi had always been a haven. They didn’t have a home base, but it was as close as they came. They pulled in every few months to barter their spoils for supplies and to unwind at the local taverns. No one had expected the ambush.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa’s stomach soured at the memory, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>cathunk</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the shuriken embedding in the wooden post just to the right of his head in their favorite bar. They’d thought to catch him off guard with his veins heavy with rum. He had a reputation for being able to sense them when his head wasn’t clouded, a reputation that usually spared him and his men from such skirmishes. It did not surprise him to learn his ancient enemies had placed a bounty on his head, but it did surprise him that they would be so bold as to attack him on his own turf.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He still didn’t know how the first blade missed, but he sobered the instant he felt the small thrum in his blood that always always forewarned him of the presence of ninjas. The second blade might have found its mark if Akaashi hadn’t barreled into him in his momentary hesitation, knocking him under the table and whipping his pistol out to fire three blind shots at the aggressors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The battle was over quickly. Akaashi’s bullets had taken two of the ninjas point blank, Kyoutani’s sabre settled in the heart of a third, and Iwaizumi’s bloodied fists dumped the fourth to the ground, his neck canted at an unnatural angle. Iwaizumi’s chest heaved with the exertion, but his emerald eyes sought Oikawa’s, softening with relief when he realized his best friend was unharmed. Oikawa nodded to affirm the scratch on his cheek was superficial, then scanned the rest of the establishment to be sure none of his other crew were harmed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He should have noticed the thrumming in his blood had not abated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The skirmish had sent the rest of the bar into a fighting frenzy. Weapons were drawn all over, bullets whizzing and bottles flying. In the chaos, Oikawa and his crew failed to notice a fifth masked figure amongst the crowd. Small and slender, she slipped through the throng and buried her blade in Iwa-chan’s stomach. He crumpled to the ground at her feet. She threw a look over her shoulder, honey eyes glistening with victory. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa saw nothing but red as he pulled his pistol free of its holster on his hip and riddled her back with holes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thrumming was replaced with silent ice as he rushed to Iwaizumi’s side, his first mate coughing blood as he gripped at the captain’s tousled shirt. Somewhere behind him, Akaashi was barking orders at the rest of the crew to pull out and return to the ship. Oikawa vaguely remembered Matsukawa pulling him away from Iwaizumi so he could carry the bulky man back to Hanamaki. He distinctly remembered the look on Suga’s face when they returned to the ship, because he knew it was the same horrified expression twisting his own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was none of the shock on the ashen-haired man’s face now, though his brows pulled so tightly in concern as he carded a hand through Iwaizumi’s head in his lap that Oikawa worried the whole ordeal would cause Suga’s supernaturally smooth features to wrinkle prematurely. Hanamaki knelt at the side of the sickbed-really no more than a bench carved into the starboard wall of the cabin-as he changed the bandages around Iwaizumi’s middle. They both acknowledged their captain with a nod as he strode into the room with as much swagger as he could muster. He wasn’t fooling anyone in the room, but they had the good sense not to call him out on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He meant to ask about the lost supplies, but the first question that came to his tongue, that had lived on his tongue for the better part of seventy-two hours, was, “How is he?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Makki’s back was to him, so he couldn’t read the man’s face, but Suga couldn’t hide the bloodied lip he’d nearly chewed to a pulp. “Fever’s getting worse,” his medic’s voice sounded muffled against the opposite wall. “I stitched him up as best as I could before the storm hit, but I don’t like the way the sutures tore when we were rocked all over creation.” Finally, grey eyes turned to face him, grave. “Did Mattsun tell you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa nodded. Suga’s hand never slowed in its gentle ministration, but there was a tightness to his muscles that belied the calm expression on his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can he wait until we make our way back to the Sendai Isles?” Oikawa asked, knowing the likely answer would not be what he wanted to hear. They were so far off course, it would take them days yet to reach the nearest port.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Makki’s lips compressed to a thin line. He didn’t like giving his captain bad news, but that was the business he dealt in more often than not. “I don’t think so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you find what you need if we go ashore?” He wanted nothing more than to sail away from this unknown island, but he desperately clung to whatever hope he could find in saving Iwaizumi’s life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can probably find enough to make some painkillers and antibacterials. It might tide us over until we can get back to port, but Oikawa,” he addressed him by name rather than rank to get his full attention, “I can’t promise it will be enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The knot that had been forming in his stomach since he’d learned of the damages from the storm twisted sharply. After all these years, he couldn’t lose Iwaizumi to something so cowardly as an assassination attempt. Certainly not to a blade that was no doubt meant for him. He would never live with himself if Iwa-chan took the fall for him, no matter how much his first mate would claim it was his duty to protect him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Iwaizumi is far too stubborn to die like this,” Suga’s saccharine voice cut through the tension. His face was fond as he gazed at the man slumbering fitfully in his lap. When Suga brought his eyes back up to meet Oikawa’s, there was a hint of challenge. “You know that better than anyone, don’t you captain?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa felt some of the tension slough off his shoulders with Suga’s honeyed reminder. The man truly was a blessing. They were hardly out of the deep waters, but it wasn’t entirely hopeless, no matter what Makki’s prognosis said. “How soon can you be ready to depart?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How soon can you ready a landing craft?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held out a steady hand and Oikawa grasped it to help the medic to his feet. He squeezed Hanamaki’s forearm in silent gratitude. “Within the hour.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They strode out of the captain’s quarters, Oikawa barking orders for a handful of sailors to join him on the aft deck. Akaashi, Yahaba, Watari, Kindaichi, and Matsukawa surrounded him moments later. He gave Matsukawa orders to ready a longboat to take the rest of them to shore. He would then remain behind and continue working to salvage what he could of their stores. Yahaba was learning medicine from Hanamaki so Oikawa wanted him to help the medic find the herbs and sundries that would be of use. Watari, Kindaichi, and Akaashi were to come as backup in case there were any foes lurking in the woods, and also to hunt for any game they could find to fluff their sorely depleted stores.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As everyone broke off to prepare their away gear, a throat cleared behind Oikawa. Akaashi was watching him with thinly veiled concern. “You don’t like this plan,” Oikawa deduced from the tightness at the edges of his dark eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a good plan,” Akaashi admitted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa folded his arms across his chest and stared the man down. They were nearly equal in height, and as much as Oikawa preferred to leer at his subordinates when they disagreed with him, Akaashi carried himself too proudly to be looked down upon, regardless of the difference in their ranks. “You think I’m being reckless.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you are desperate and grasping at whatever hope you can cling to.” There was no malice in his voice. Akaashi never minced words. “It is our only option at this point,” he conceded with a frown towards the island.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was more he wanted to say, and Oikawa had little patience for his dramatic tendencies. “So what’s the issue?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not an issue I have so much as a suggestion.” Akaashi never balked at offering his opinions to Oikawa before, so the captain couldn’t discern why he was dancing around whatever was on his tongue. “Iwaizumi’s chances of survival go up the sooner Hanamaki can tend to his wounds. They also go up with exposure to fresh, clean air.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa could feel his eyebrows climb to the top of his head. “You want me to bring Iwa-chan to that island with us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dark haired sailor tightened his clasped fingers, forcing himself not to tug at them as he so often did when he was conflicted about something. “I want our first mate to survive. I do not think he will if he remains on the ship.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite the nearly two years Akaashi had sailed under Oikawa, the captain did not know much about the man or his past experiences. He knew Akaashi was scarily intuitive and always calm and collected in the most dire situations. If Iwaizumi wasn’t his first mate, if they hadn’t known each other nearly their whole lives, Akaashi would be an excellent right hand. He often took Akaashi’s suggestions into consideration for that respect alone but seeing him exhibiting any signs of anxiousness at all was enough to convince him immediately.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will talk to Makki.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi’s shoulders didn’t relax, but his eyes softened as he nodded. “I will talk with Matsukawa and see if we have a litter for him.” Oikawa clasped a hand on his shoulder in silent thanks and returned to his cabin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Akaashi usually has the best ideas, but I can’t say I like this one,” Hanamaki grumbled when Oikawa returned. He wiped a hand down his face as he gave his patient another once over. “He’s not wrong,” he admitted, “the sooner I can get the meds to him, the better a chance he’ll have at survival. But moving him could complicate things too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa had considered that, but he also didn’t want Iwa-chan to be far from him at all. “We can secure him. The bay is calm. He won’t be rocked any worse than he was in the storm.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t have time to argue it,” Suga’s voice was tight, as if he was also wary of letting Iwaizumi out of his sight. He probably was. “Captain. It’s your call at the end.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa met Hanamaki’s eyes with all the authority he could muster. “We’re bringing him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aye, Captain,” he sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slipped out to find Akaashi and Matsukawa with the litter, leaving Oikawa and Suga alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iwaizumi stirred, grimacing as the subtle movement aggravated his wounds, but he didn’t wake. Suga’s eyes were shiny with unshed tears and Oikawa felt a pang of guilt. “Kou-chan,” he started, but Suga closed his eyes and gave him a gentle shake of his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If Akaashi says his odds are better on shore, then I believe him.” His fingers tightened in the short black strands on Iwaizumi’s head. He released them with a shaky exhale as he met Oikawa’s eyes once more. “I know I don’t have to ask this, because I know you will, but promise me you’ll bring him back in one piece? I just...I need to hear it. For my own sake.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa often took for granted how easily Suga had slotted into their life after they brought him on board, his unending cheerfulness and dependability acting as an anchor for Iwaizumi whenever Oikawa would veer off course. Sometimes he forgot that Suga hadn’t always been there, that there had been a time when Iwaizumi only had him to turn to. That there were still times they fell into old habits that emphasized just how deep their bonds to one another run. Bonds that had often been mistaken for romantic, even though they never were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Five years on his crew had been more than enough time for Suga to grasp the nuances of their bizarre relationship, but when they fell into those familiar routines that placed them in their own world separate from everyone else, even he couldn’t completely mask his insecurities from his captain’s knowing eyes. Suga’s two years with Iwaizumi certainly couldn’t compare to the lifetime of memories the first mate had with Oikawa. In his eyes, the love between captain and first mate was something untouchable, unbreakable, </span>
  <em>
    <span>unsinkable</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Oikawa knew he couldn’t compare to Iwaizumi’s love for Suga, or Suga’s love for Iwaizumi. He didn’t know how to reassure the man of that fact, which, to him, was plain as day. They were so caught up in one another’s currents that sometimes he felt like he would drown if he got swept up between them. He’d never met two people more meant for one another and he would sail to the ends of the earth to make sure his dearest friends got the happy ending they deserved.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have my word,” he said, hand pressed to the feather-shaped amulet over his heart. The carved obsidian heirloom was precious to him and he would sooner sink his ship than break a promise made on it. “And I will send for you immediately if we encounter any problems.” He would have liked to bring Suga along too, but he would be put to better use helping Matsukawa get the ship back in order. They really needed every hand working, and without Iwaizumi to fuss over, he could focus his energy more productively.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suga nodded acceptance and understanding. Oikawa bowed out of his own room for the second time in under an hour, leaving the men with some privacy for the last few moments until their departure. He tried not to dwell on how much it felt like he was giving Suga the opportunity to say goodbye, as if he believed they might not make it back, despite his promise. He shook his head to rid himself of the ridiculous theatrics. It wasn’t like they were marching to their death. The uncertainties about what they would find on the island were making him too tense. That was all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The longboats weren’t really fit to transport a litter and a half dozen men, so they loaded up two. Akaashi oversaw the division of supplies between them, helping Hanamaki lift Iwaizumi into one while Oikawa took the rest of his landing party in the other. He would have preferred to be in Iwaizumi’s craft, but he was in good hands with Makki and Akaashi.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He met Suga’s eyes one last time as they lowered the boats to the water. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We’ll be right back.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It only took about ten minutes to reach the island but the journey to shore was agonizingly slow. Oikawa’s skin itched the closer they got and he wanted to turn around and take their chances on the open water with every second that trickled by. He kept scanning the beach with his spyglass, watching the treeline for any sign of movement. There was a thrumming in his blood but it was faint, like he was only imagining it, willing it into existence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He glanced over his shoulder at the second boat to see his medic and second mate following dutifully. Given their precious cargo, he felt his paranoia was justified. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Watari and Kindaichi leapt out once they reached the shallows, pulling the boat up onto the sand. Yahaba helped Akaashi bring in the boat with Hanamaki and Iwaizumi. Oikawa crept onto the beach with one hand on the sword at his hip, sharp eyes focusing on the empty shore and beyond. The fine white sand stretched for at least a mile in either direction before rounding towards the south. Assorted leafy green trees common to the region grew to the edge of the beach, leaving a strip between the forest and the water that was just wide enough to set up camp. The dense overgrowth was a good sign that at least this side of the island was uninhabited. Given how close to the Shrouded Isles they were, that came as no surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, Oikawa couldn’t shake the unease he felt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned back towards his crew and began barking orders. “Watari, Kindaichi, start setting up camp. Makki, Yahaba, get out there and find your ingredients. The sooner you have what you need, the sooner we can set sail again. Akaashi, you’re with me. We’ll see if we can’t find some fresh water and game. Maybe find some hidden caches. If this island really is abandoned, there are bound to be some. Watari, when Iwaizumi is settled, you go hunting too. Kindaichi.” The gangly man with gravity defying hair straightened to attention. “You guard Iwaizumi with your life.” He didn’t need the younger man’s emphatic nod to know he would be obeyed. The kid was a good sailor, respectful and faithful, and he adored Iwaizumi. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned back towards the looming forest with a glower. “I don’t think there’s anyone here, but be on your guard anyway.” They had all sailed with him long enough to understand that by “anyone” he specifically meant their ancient enemies. He would not admit to them that his confidence in his old trick had been slagging since Miyagi. They had faith in him. He would not worry them unnecessarily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi stepped up to his side, a similar frown on his face as he gazed at the formidable foliage. “If there are any hostiles here, we will do as we have always done and end them swiftly, forewarned or not.” His eyes slid to the side to regard Oikawa with understanding. His ability to read the things Oikawa did not say was terrifying at the best of times, but the reminder brought him some measure of comfort that he didn’t have to bear the burden alone. He had to have faith in them as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Loaded with snares and waterskins, they set off into the unknown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa and Akaashi trekked in silence for the most part, eyes and ears on full alert. The same caution they exercised in looking out for enemies was beneficial to looking out for prey or signs of hidden caches. They had yet to see anything of the latter, but they had seen several small critters running through the underbrush, and signs of larger game as well. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, despite the underlying tension in the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as he liked and respected Akaashi, the man wasn’t much for conversation on a mission. Which, not that they needed to wax philosophic or have lengthy dissertations on politics or the proper methods of boarding and looting captured vessels while they were working, but he didn’t really banter like some of the others either. Oikawa thought he could use the distraction from his thoughts, but he also didn’t know what he could possibly talk about to keep from thinking about his best friend fighting for his life back at camp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am sorry.” Akaashi’s low voice cut through his thoughts and startled him from his survey of the path ahead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For what?” He thanked his years of leadership experience for the steadiness of his reply. Akaashi’s eyes were keen, he didn’t doubt the man had picked up on his reaction, no matter how subtle, but he hoped he at least wasn’t transparent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi kept his gaze on their surroundings. Maybe he hadn’t seen after all. “I can’t offer you the reassurances you seek. I do not like to waste my breath on useless platitudes.” He sighed. “I am sorry I can be of no comfort to you when you are in pain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa huffed a laugh as he focused his gaze on their flank. “That is its own comfort,” he admitted. “I can always trust you will be honest with me. You won’t give me hope where there is none and I respect that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi hummed noncommittally as he glanced back the way they had come. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa kept his weapon pointed to the ground as they advanced deeper into the woods. The vague thrumming hadn’t abated, but neither had it grown stronger since they’d set foot on the island. The thought that he’d somehow lost the trick of it after close to three decades of life nearly choked him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except, it had never been a trick. It was as much a part of him as breathing. He hadn’t known what it was when he was a kid, hadn’t encountered many ninjas on the docks he’d worked with Iwa-chan. It wasn’t until they set off with the pirates of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kitagawa</span>
  </em>
  <span> that he first discovered the ability. And even then, it had taken half a dozen skirmishes to put two and two together. The crew started to look to him whenever they ventured ashore, their own albatross against the shadowed scourge. The thrum used to freeze him before they would appear, so if he stilled suddenly, the crew would draw arms and fight off the impending attack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the old captain had made enough money to retire to a distant shore, he’d left the ship in Oikawa’s hands with enough of the veteran crew to help him train a new crew. There were plenty of young sailors who had already heard of his exploits. Piracy was fast becoming a young man’s game. Several of the most feared ships on the seas were captained by men and women no older than he was and he had already made a bit of a name for himself with his supernatural ability to detect the undetectable. He was proud to have such a fierce and loyal crew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t think they would leave him if he’d lost his touch, but he couldn’t help but wonder all the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi’s arm hit his chest, halting him and bringing him out of his thoughts. The younger man nodded towards a large rock outcropping that jutted about ten feet in the air, a natural curtain of moss trailing over the edge towards the ground. Oikawa frowned as he wondered why Akaashi had paused for this, but then he felt it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thrumming wasn’t as strong as a typical encounter, but the familiar tingling in his veins was more potent now that they were almost on top of one. He met Akaashi’s eyes and nodded. They fired into the alcove.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A black and orange blur flickered across the path in front of them as their bullets ricocheted off the stone. They spun to follow it, teeth gritted as their first volley missed, and fired after it. Splintered bark filled the air as their second volley struck the tree their foe had ducked behind for cover. They reloaded and split to either side of the tree. When they rounded it, their guns found only each other, not their quarry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa clicked his teeth in frustration as he pulled the gun up and away from his crewmate. Akaashi mirrored him and they spun so their backs were together, aiming their guns into the surrounding forest. Their enemy hadn’t run far. Oikawa could still feel them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He heard a rustling from above and looked up just in time to see a small body drop from the canopy. It wasn’t enough time to completely evade, and the ninja knocked both pistols out of their hands as he landed between them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They pulled their swords in a fluid motion but the ninja was prepared for that, too. His shortsword caught Akaashi’s sabre as he stopped Oikawa’s rapier with his dagger. The pirates pressed in, trying to catch him between them, but he was too agile. A casual twist of his dagger was enough to cause Oikawa to stumble, breaking the deadlock enough for him to disengage from Akaashi too. Oikawa’s eyes flickered to the guns on the ground, but the ninja caught the motion and rolled to kick them out of reach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fine then. If it was a battle of blades the little monster wanted, Oikawa would give it to him. “He’s mine,” he snarled, eliciting a disapproving frown from his subordinate. Two-on-one fared better odds than dueling man to man, but ninja never fought alone. It was likely his friends were just lying in wait and they were already outnumbered. Akaashi stepped back obediently, keeping his sword at the ready even as he scanned the surrounding forest for signs of backup.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa trusted Akaashi to have his back while he focused on taking his revenge. This short ginger may not have been the one who stabbed Iwaizumi-that one was already dead in a tavern back on Miyagi-but Oikawa wouldn’t be satisfied until he beat them all. His residual rage from the ambush, the frustration over his lost cargo, the faint desperation at their dire circumstances, he poured it all into his blade as he stepped into his attack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their swords connected again after a flurry of parries, and he finally got a closer look at his foe. The lower half of his face was covered by his mask of course, a rather useless precaution given how vibrant the man’s hair was. There was nothing subtle or anonymous about that offensive orange, certainly nothing the wide, streaming band around his temple could conceal. This close, Oikawa could also tell he wasn’t just a kid as he’d first thought, despite his diminutive stature and slight frame. There was intelligence in those shimmering amber eyes that struck him as far wiser than his apparent years could attest to. They might even be of an age, Oikawa thought, though was sure he was still older. They were kind eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait, what?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The gentle humming in his blood reached a crescendo as the ninja’s eyes widened in something akin to awe. They were so bright. Where was the fury? The bloodlust? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why was his heart hammering in his chest?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa,” the ninja breathed, and the corners of his eyes crinkled with mirth. “Are you guys pirates?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we- do you not know a pirate when you see one?” Oikawa all but yelped. What was with this ninja?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged, keeping their blades locked as he grinned back at Oikawa. “You’re the first I’ve had the pleasure of meeting!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sure was talkative. Was he stalling for his back up? “Where’s the rest of your people?” Oikawa demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ninja blinked, his eyes darkening for the barest of moments. There it was, that had to be it. Oikawa listened for the tell-tale sign in his veins that more ninja were on their way, but instead of the frantic pulsing he was so accustomed to in the presence of their ancient enemies, there was nothing but warmth. Like the sun itself had made a home there in his heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just me,” he replied, voice wistful and almost sad. It sounded genuine. The smile he offered next felt equally genuine. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer not to fight you guys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa narrowed his eyes at the tiny ginger monster as stepped back. Akaashi hissed a warning at him as he lowered his sword but he waved him off with his free hand. “You,” he paused, realizing how ridiculous the question sounded even as he spoke it, “are a ninja aren’t you?” Was this some sort of trick?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sadness, yes it was definitely sadness Oikawa realized with a pang of kinship, was back in his eyes. He gave a half-hearted chuckle as he returned his sword to its sheath on his back. “Well now, I wonder about that.” He placed one hand on his hip while he tapped his covered chin with the other. “The Elders would probably say I’m not, but I’ve never been anything else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What does that even mean?” Oikawa huffed. “Either you’re a ninja or you’re not. And if you are, that makes us enemies.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The shorter man looked up and away as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, that’s the whole problem isn’t it? I don’t really get that.” He sighed. “And apparently, refusing to kill pirates for the sake of killing pirates and asking questions about it is enough to get you excommunicated.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A ninja that didn’t kill pirates? It went against all logic, against his every instinct, but when Oikawa looked at him, he believed him. He blamed the steadiness of his pulse for his perceived lapse in judgement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Akaashi growled as Oikawa sheathed his sword.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s it look like I’m doing? He’s not an enemy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s a ninja,” Akaashi hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You heard him,” Oikawa said, retrieving his pistol and replacing it to its holster. “He’s no more a ninja than I am.” The ninja raised an eyebrow in what Oikawa assumed was agreement. He retrieved Akaashi’s revolver and tossed it to him as well. “So chibi ninja-chan, you got a name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The shrimp went rigid for a second, startled by the sudden question, but he relaxed again just as quickly and gave Oikawa a two-fingered salute. “Hinata,” he said. “Hinata Shouyou, at your service.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then Hinata Shouyou,” he chuckled, feeling slightly giddy at the absurdity of the situation, “anything you can tell us about this island? Are you really the only one here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haven’t seen anyone else,” Hinata said, rocking on his heels. “Only been here a few days myself, though. My boat got caught in a storm and I kinda got marooned here. I’ve been scavenging mostly, and there’s good hunting towards the center of the island if you want meat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Water?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata’s head bobbed like a gull floating on rough seas. “There’s a stream about a mile south of here with really fresh water! Fish, too!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa made a mental note to check how much netting they’d brought. If they could catch some fish, that would make Matsukawa’s job a bit easier. “Thanks for the info, Hinata! We’ll be on our way, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata gave a brief bow before disappearing back up into the canopy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi was scowling at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was it really wise to let him go like that? He could have been bluffing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa shook his head. He trusted his senses. Hinata was the only ninja on this island. “Captain’s intuition,” he answered with a wink, feeling more like himself than he had in days. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Ninja</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Hinata’s feet flew from branch to branch at the pace his heart set in his chest. It hadn’t stopped racing since those first bullets flew over his head where he’d been dozing. It was just his luck that he’d stumbled on pirates when he was already stranded but maybe lady luck was still on his side since he’d managed to talk them out of killing him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d been fortunate never to cross paths with pirates on his jobs to the outer isles or the mainland, but he’d heard they were merciless, that they wouldn’t hesitate to kill a ninja. And certainly, these hadn’t hesitated to shoot before even announcing themselves. Some vague instinct had warned him of their approach-a faint tingling under his skin that made him think of home-or their initial volley might have succeeded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And yet, they had backed off and let him go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The captain had been scary at first, dark brown eyes blazing and teeth gnashing in rage at the mere sight of the ninja, but beneath the fury in his fight had been a hint of desperation. Once he’d realized Hinata wasn’t fighting back, he’d lost some of his bloodlust. His partner hadn’t been wholly convinced, but he didn’t keep fighting after the captain told him to stop. Maybe, Hinata thought, if they weren’t always so quick to slit one another’s throats, pirates and ninjas could actually get along. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slowed as he neared another clearing, hearing low voices in the underbrush. Two more men squatted at some bushes, collecting leaves and stems as they talked amongst themselves. More pirates? The taller of the two had sun-bleached strawberry blonde hair that looked almost pink. It was kept closely cropped except for a thin braid at the nape. The other had warm eyes and brown hair tied in a similar fashion as the captain’s. He seemed young, taking direction from his senior and nodding as he went to gather flowers from the other side of the clearing. There was an urgency to their movements, but they handled the flora with delicacy. Hinata didn’t think anything they had collected was edible, but he recognised the bark in a pile at pink-hair’s feet. Neither of them appeared injured, so it was probably for another one of their comrades.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took note of the weapons on their hips and decided not to press his luck a second time. He quietly made his way further into the woods to put distance between himself and the pirates, except he stumbled on another one a few minutes later. Shorter than any of the pirates he’d encountered yet, this one was collecting kindling. Just how many of them were there? If they were scavenging and collecting firewood, it was likely they were making camp somewhere. It was probably foolish, but he trailed after the buzz cut man to find out where they were moored. That way he could make sure to avoid it while they were here. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another man paced nervously in the sand, saluting with a straight back as buzz-cut emerged from the treeline. From his vantage point hidden in the foliage, Hinata wasn’t sure, but he thought the shallot-head might be the tallest one yet. He flitted about, helping the shorter man stack the kindling, pointing out the hole he had dug for a fire. He kept glancing towards their landing craft, brows furrowed with concern. Hinata didn’t know much about boats, but they looked pretty secure, pulled up onto the shore and out of the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the boats the pirate was worried about, though. There was another man, laying on a makeshift sickbed between the upturned longboats, dozing fitfully under the sun. They had stripped some of the nearby trees of their broad-leafed branches in an effort to shield him from the worst of heat, but the shade could only do so much. They had stripped him of his coat, at least, having folded it and tucked it beneath his head as a pillow. His billowy shirt was open to his abdomen though, and Hinata saw signs of bandages there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah. So this is what the captain was so desperate to protect.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata didn’t blame him. He would have fought just as desperately if someone he loved was hurt. Thinking about his family, his loved ones, all the people he’d been forced to leave when the Elders deemed him a heretic and cast him out, made rocks roll in his chest. They were no longer his to claim. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He settled himself against the trunk of the tree he was in and watched the pirates work for a bit. They built up a more sturdy lean-to at the edge of the woods and transferred the injured man out of the sun. At one point he awoke, raspy voice grumbling about “Shittykawa” and “‘m fine, don’t fuss over me, Yuu,” before passing out again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the scavengers returned with their baskets of herbs, they set right to work grinding and mixing up salves. Hinata knew a little bit about field medicine, and now that he saw what plants they had collected, he understood what they were making, if he didn’t know why. Surely they had a medicine kit on the ship he spotted in the bay? Something more useful than a salve that would only serve as a stopgap for whatever wound the man had sustained? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As pink-hair unwound the bandages at the spiky-haired man’s waist, Hinata grimaced. Dragon’s Blood wouldn’t be enough for that gaping wound. A wound that had been made with a short blade, he noticed upon further investigation. One he had been trained to make with the same tanto he had used in his duel with the captain. A pang of guilt surged through him and he fought to suppress a groan. No wonder the handsome brunet with the warm eyes had been so hostile in their brief battle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Many of the men had scars in visible places. Pink-hair had a faded line on his cheek. His apprentice, a cross-shaped brand on his arm. Buzz-cut probably kept his hair short because of the thin scar that ran above his left ear. Shallot-head was missing part of a finger on his right hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata wondered how many of those had come from his own kind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He should have left, gone back into the island and away from these men who would almost certainly kill him as soon as look at him. Despite his own personal beliefs, he knew how they would view him if they discovered him. He’d already survived one skirmish. He wasn’t sure if he’d be so lucky to escape unscathed a second time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet, he lingered. He stayed and watched them work, watched them carouse and tease each other, their laughter floating on the wind up to his hiding spot. Their mirth was contagious and he couldn’t help the grin that broke on his face. It was warm and welcoming, and he longed for the days he had that camaraderie too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata’s smile began to slag beneath his mask, eyes seeing not what was in front of him but what lay behind him. His path had always been different from his brethren. He’d never been one for convention, but he was confident in his own ability. He thought for sure he could convince the Elders to consider a path to peace. That he couldn’t be the only one dissatisfied with how things were. Tobio had called him a dumbass, but he had also cried the hardest when the news of the Elders Judgement came to pass. Hinata couldn’t ask him to stand for him and ruin his own future. Maybe one day, when he was an Elder, he would rescind the exile, letting Hinata come home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Home was no longer a place for him. He would just have to keep barreling forward until he made a new home for himself. He wasn’t convinced he was the only one. If there was a procedure for exiling a member of the clan, there must have been a precedent, other ninja who left or were cast out, abandoned. Maybe if he could befriend some pirates, prove they weren’t all blood-thirsty bastards, maybe that would be enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He returned to the present and his silent watch of the smiling men below. He wondered if they knew about the abandoned fort on the southern end of the island. It wasn’t huge, and half the outer walls were weathered down by the sea and storms, but it would certainly provide better shelter and would probably have a real bed for their injured man. Maybe he could tell them and maybe they wouldn’t kill him, a bargain for giving them helpful information. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The injured man groaned when the medics worked on his wounds, his breath hitching even as he complained about their rough handling. Pink-hair made a quip about the ninja that stabbed him, if he would have preferred her tender ministrations instead. The spikey haired patient scowled at the reminder. (Maybe Hinata wouldn’t make his presence known after all.) The younger one made him drink something that tasted awful, from the way he grimaced and smacked his lips after swallowing, and he was out again a few minutes later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata should have left then, but still he remained. He found himself drawn to them. They were entertaining, and even though he couldn’t go down and join in their merriment, if he closed his eyes he could almost imagine he was back at the island he grew up on, laughing and joking with Kageyama and Tsukishima, Yachi and Yamaguchi. He would clamber across the wreckage in the bay, challenging the others to race him. The boys would sometimes indulge him, Kageyama most often, but Yachi would scold them with a meek squeal. The rotting boards were dangerous, after all, and she didn’t want anyone getting hurt, but she was also petrified of being caught. “Good ninja don’t get caught,” he would proudly proclaim, and then stand on a jutting prow with his hands on his hips, daring them to knock him down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the end he had been caught. Caught between his clan’s archaic ways of thinking and his own lofty ideals. He had no qualms with killing when necessary, assassination work was what they were most known for, after all, but unless he was getting paid or he was defending himself, he couldn’t see his way to killing just for the sake of killing. Pirates had never done anything to him, what reason did he have to kill them?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All his life, the Elders and adults in the village had described pirates as monsters. They were the boogeymen of children’s nightmares and the sea was a dangerous place because they roamed the waters like hungry predators seeking their next meal. They were a scourge, and ninja were the cure. There were honors for any ninja who brought down a pirate in battle, more for those who died fighting. The family of the woman who had wounded the slumbering man below would be honored, once word returned to the village of how she had slain a mighty pirate before falling. Hinata didn’t much see the appeal in that. Living was far more exciting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His neck tingled with the sensation of eyes on him and he opened his with a start. He scanned the camp and found the pirates were all engaged in menial tasks and continued banter. None were looking his direction, but the feeling persisted. When he glanced down at the patient he realized the man’s hazy green eyes were open the barest amount. He was staring right at Hinata. Or at least, right at the spot Hinata was lurking. He suppressed a shiver so the motion wouldn’t register to the man’s foggy glower. He wasn’t entirely convinced the man was fully conscious, anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pirate’s brows furrowed and he blinked slowly. Hinata’s pulse pounded in his ears again. He couldn’t actually see him, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The fuck?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He squeezed his eyes shut again and Hinata took that moment to slip to a different branch, out of his direct line of sight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pink-hair heard his distressed mutter and came to check on him. “Pain still bothering you Iwa?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iwa scowled at the spot Hinata had vacated and raised his arm towards it. “I swear I saw somethin up there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His companion turned to look where he pointed, squinting into the sun with a frown. He did not find whatever Iwa was pointing at and shrugged. “Probably just a bird.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No it was too big to be a bird,” he grumbled. He rubbed his eyes. “Maybe it was just a dream. Keep seeing that ninja every time I close my eyes. The fuck did Yahaba give me anyway?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something that should have knocked you out longer,” he chuckled, though there was a tightness in his eyes as he scanned the trees again. “Captain said there were no ninja here though, so I doubt that’s what you saw.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oikawa would know,” Iwa yawned, flinching as the motion pulled at the wound in his abdomen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa. Hinata rolled the name around in his head. Attached it to a beautiful face with perfect hair and a commanding but familiar presence. Chestnut eyes that didn’t quite smile when his lips did, hiding a loneliness Hinata knew a little too well. He wondered how Oikawa could know whether there were ninja about or not, especially considering he was wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll be back soon,” the medic soothed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iwa snorted. “‘M not worried.” His eyes started to drift closed again. “Hey Makki?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cracked one eye open. “Tell Kindaichi to stop staring at me like I’m gonna disappear if he looks away for two seconds. It’s keeping me awake.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His voice carried enough that snickers erupted around the camp. Shallot-head’s ears turned bright red and he turned his head towards the bay. “Captain told me to watch, though,” he sputtered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’re doing a great job,” the short pirate assured him with a clap on the shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“T-thanks Watari.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Makki grinned at him. “Alright fine, we’ll stop lavishing you with attention. Get some rest.” He grunted agreement, closing his eye again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once again Hinata thought about leaving, venturing towards the other end of the island where the likelihood of stumbling on more men who would shoot first and ask questions later was lower, but the sun was warm and the breeze off the bay was calming and he didn’t really want to move at all. Between his brief duel with the captain and the subsequent discovery of his crew, Hinata had been running on full alert for a while now. He wasn’t completely out of the woods as long as he stayed close enough to be seen, but he could risk a short rest before moving on. Maybe the captain would come back and tell them about him. Maybe he could reveal himself then and negotiate passage off the island.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A ninja, voluntarily sailing with pirates. Now that </span>
  <em>
    <span>would</span>
  </em>
  <span> be something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dozed off, dreaming of the wind in his hair on open water, a ragtag crew surrounding him laughing and teasing about being on a ship in the first place. Faces from home mixed with the fresh ones he’d been observing all afternoon. In his dream, his childhood friends shed their armor for loose vests and trousers, colorful sashes and bandanas and gaudy jewelry. They blend in among the pirates, but it’s natural and completely unlike when they use their skills for infiltration. The tall captain’s eyes actually match the smile on his lips. They weren’t monsters at all. Everyone gets along with everyone and this is how the world should be. It feels right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a nice dream, but the feeling didn’t last.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A new feeling permeated his senses, one he had honed through years of training and meditation. He hadn’t spent so long studying the shadows to not recognise when someone else moved through them. They weren’t subtle, not to him anyway, and definitely not ninja. They looked like more pirates. He didn’t understand why they crept through the underbrush towards the camp. Weren’t they friends of the men gathered there?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All hell broke loose as the small army burst from the treeline, swords drawn and orders shouted. The marooned party jumped to their feet at the ambush, but the attack had clearly caught them off guard. Few barely had time to draw their own weapons. The short man had his sword ready to parry the blade of a man with a horrific bowl cut, but shallot-head was overwhelmed by a huge, dark man who looked like a living painting of Benkei. Hinata flinched at the crack of the man’s hilt against the younger man’s head. He would have a headache for days.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The medics were faring a little better, but three on two wasn’t quite a fair fight, even back to back as they were. Fairness went out to sea when a cackling voice rang out across the beach from where Iwa had been convalescing. Another giant man, this one with vibrant scarlet hair and no shortage of scars on his pale skin, had a flashy dagger pressed to the injured man’s cheek.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, now, let’s not do anything hasty,” the scary man cooed. “We just want to help.” His fang-baring grin suggested the opposite was true. The ambushed pirates dropped their arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata’s heart pounded in his chest again. He could help. He could drop down and take out these other pirates. But the captain’s crew wouldn't know he was there to help. If they were outnumbered, he surely would be. And he still didn’t want to fight pirates, if he could help it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The captain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t returned yet. Hinata scanned the combatants once more to be sure. A foolish, wasteful motion, as he could still feel the man back near where he had left him. He didn’t question how he could sense him, just trusted his instincts and let his feet carry him back into the island.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to warn the captain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had to warn Oikawa.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Traitor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Oikawa capped off the last waterskin as Akaashi came back to the stream with a pair of rabbits strung over his shoulder. After finding the little creek, they had gone back to set a few traps off the path they had come. He hadn’t actually expected to catch anything so soon, but the animals of the island were clearly unused to any human presence at all and did not avoid the thin wires Akaashi had expertly tied down. Two small rabbits wouldn’t be enough for the whole crew, but it gave Oikawa hope that they could fluff their stores enough overnight to get them back to civilization before they set sail again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The navigator settled down at the bank of the stream and dipped his hands into the cool, flowing water, splashing some of the grime off his face before taking a gulping swallow. Oikawa did the same. There was no reason to waste the water he had already collected, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wonder if Wattachi had as much luck as we did.” He gestured to the game on the ground between them. “If Makki found what he needed to give Iwa another night, I might call for Mad Dog to go hunting some of those deer we saw.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi’s eyes narrowed, staring at the water trickling through his fingers while he mulled over his words. Oikawa noted the tightness in his shoulders, but then he’d been tense ever since that ninja had appeared. “I am not sure it would be wise to remain here overnight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His stomach rocked, on the precipice of sinking under again. “You were the one who suggested Iwa-chan would have a better shot if we got him off the ship,” Oikawa quipped back. He almost splashed water at the other man in a petulant manner. He was trying very hard not to be pessimistic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I stand by that,” Akaashi said, a slight pinching at the corners of his lips betraying his conviction, “but with a ninja on the loose, I have some concerns.” He slid his gaze to the side, pointedly eyeing Oikawa and conveying his displeasure of the circumstances of the end of his battle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was alone,” Oikawa reiterated. “He isn’t a threat.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oikawa, he’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>ninja</span>
  </em>
  <span>, of course he’s a threat.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The captain straightened his back at the over-familiar use of his name. Akaashi clicked his teeth in irritation as he looked away again. He at least had the grace to appear abashed. He didn’t apologize though.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How can you be sure?” he asked instead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa looked at the pair of rabbits Akaashi’s trap had snared. Their brown fur stirred in the light breeze, but otherwise they were still. Peaceful. He wondered if they had known each other, if they had been from the same burrow. Had they always been together or were they only together now in death? He shook his head. They were just rabbits.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was alone,” he repeated. There was no need for him to go into specifics. Akaashi didn’t need to know he saw his own loneliness reflected in amber in the heat of their battle. The low thrumming in his blood that so often plagued him, which had tormented him as a child, there was something comforting in it here. Something peaceful. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stood to his feet, stretching his arms over his head with a groan. “We should head back. Makki should have found what he needed by now, and he’ll likely be wanting fresh water to clean Iwa-chan’s wounds.” He slung the waterskins over his back and turned toward the north. Towards camp. Towards his ship. Towards home.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi fell in step beside him without further complaint. He kept a wary eye on their surroundings though, despite Oikawa’s insistence it wasn’t necessary. Akaashi was always vigilant, but something seemed off about him today. Oikawa attributed it to the same nervous tension they’d all been feeling since the storm. He hoped that once they got Iwaizumi patched up and back on the ship, setting sail once more, they would all be able to rest a bit easier.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hope was a fickle mistress, though, and she ran at the first sign of trouble. A sign that came barreling from the canopy in a blur of orange and black.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Captain!” The loud voice pulled Oikawa’s attention upwards. Akaashi’s hand hovered over his pistol, quicksilver reflexes ready to draw in an instant, as the incomprehensible ninja dropped in front of them again. His chest heaved with excitement as he flung a hand behind him, pointing towards the beach. “Captain, your friends! Your friends are in trouble!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa narrowed his gaze on what he could see of the ninja’s face. His amber eyes were wild, almost frantic. “What sort of trouble?” The sinking feeling in his gut intensified. Akaashi made no move to shoot, making plain the unease he felt in the presence of their sworn enemy. Oikawa didn’t really blame him. He was feeling it too, kind eyes be damned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hinata planted his hands on his hips and stood straighter, nearly raising up on his toes in an effort to meet the captain’s gaze. “Pirates!” he declared. Oikawa rolled his eyes but he pressed on. “No, different pirates. I thought they were more of your friends until I saw Benkei club the shallot-head!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Benkei? That sounded like Ushijima’s muscle. What would Shiratorizawa be doing all the way out here at the edge of ninja territory? “You said there was no one else on this island.” He kept his voice low, accusing. Friendly face or not, Hinata was still a ninja. The thought that this could be a trap after all floated back to the surface of his mind. His hand slowly moved toward his sword.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hinata’s eyes sharpened at the movement. “I said I had never seen anyone else. Don’t try to make a liar out of me, Captain.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa didn’t loose his grip on the sword at his waist. “Why should I trust you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What reason do I have to lie?” he huffed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it doesn’t make sense,” Oikawa insisted. “What would Shiratorizawa be doing on an abandoned isle in the middle of fucking nowhere? The same middle of fucking nowhere I just so happen to be marooned at?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hinata tilted his head to the side-how was he supposed to know?-and Oikawa cursed himself for finding the motion charming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes flickered over Oikawa’s shoulder at the same instant Oikawa heard the hammer of a pistol pull back. Oikawa spun around, spreading his arms wide to shield the ninja from Akaashi’s aim. “We should hear him out,” he said. He didn’t know why, but he trusted the little giant. He wasn’t about to let Akaashi kill him just for warning them of danger. Shiratorizawa was a far greater threat than a single rogue pacifist ninja. “If Ushijima really has men on this island, we’re going to need all the information we can get.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi’s steely gaze did not waver. His eyes were not trained on the ninja behind Oikawa’s back, but on the captain himself. His pistol did not lower. “The information is correct,” he said, voice even-keeled as it ever was. “Ushijima has men on the island because this is his island. You are here because he wants you here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rage coiled in the pit of his stomach as the situation became clear to him. The veering off course, the lost supplies. This was no accident. This was sabotage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You?” he hissed, voice raspy with incredulity. Of everyone on his crew who he thought might mutiny, he had never once considered Akaashi. Meticulous, loyal to a fault, Akaashi Keiji. He owed this man his life on more than one occasion. The shallow cut in his cheek stung to remind him how recently that debt had been deepened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The saboteur’s face softened the barest degree, a tightening of his lips, an easing of the crease in his brow. “It wasn’t personal,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe that,” Oikawa snarled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi nodded without taking his eyes off the captain or lowering his weapon. He brought his free hand up to hold it firm. “Regardless if you believe or not, it’s the simple truth. Ushijima has something precious of mine, and the only way to get it back was to do a job for him. I like Seijoh, truly, I do, and I take no pleasure in this, but I must pay my debt.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re no better than his lapdog,” Oikawa spat. “Sent to fetch for him and come back for a scratch and a bone?” Akaashi’s face remained smooth stone. He had never wavered in the face of an enemy, and he certainly wasn’t going to begin with Oikawa. He would be impressed if he wasn’t so furious. “You’re good Keiji, but what makes you think I’m going to come quietly?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a good Captain, Oikawa. One of the best I’ve ever served under.” Oikawa grimaced at the praise. Flattery would get him nowhere at this stage. He had to know that. “It’s your greatest weakness.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa gaped at him, then threw his head back and cackled. “Are you serious? What gambit are you trying to pull here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You misunderstand,” Akaashi said, taking a confident step towards him. Oikawa didn’t take his eyes off the revolver. Behind him, he felt the ninja shift. Would he take sides in this fight? “Your people are loyal to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Apparently not all of them,” Oikawa growled under his breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Captain,” Hinata hissed. He ignored the ninja. He couldn’t exactly spare a glance for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They put all their faith in you,” Akaashi went on as if Oikawa hadn’t interrupted him. “They will be expecting you to save the day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah? Well if you’ve learned nothing about me after sailing with me for two years, you must have at least learned that I have just as much faith in them. They can handle some Shiratorizawa bastards just fine.” His fingers twitched at his sides as he calculated his odds. The trouble was, his opponent was Akaashi Keiji. There was a reason Oikawa had brought him onto his crew. He was shrewd and undeniably precise. He could disarm Oikawa before he could even get his hand on his holster. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They could,” Akaashi conceded, and Oikawa almost allowed himself to smugly bare his teeth, but Akaashi wasn’t finished. “If they weren’t distracted with concern for their first mate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Captain!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Hinata hissed again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa couldn’t hear him over the rage rushing through his ears. When he spoke, his voice was harsh and cold. “What have you done with Iwa-chan?” Akaashi’s eyes flicked over Oikawa’s shoulder almost imperceptibly. He would have missed it entirely if his focus weren’t so narrowed on the back-stabbing bastard in front of him. Whatever he had seen had displeased him, but Oikawa couldn’t care less about that. Not while Iwaizumi’s life was being threatened. Again. “What. Have. You. Done?” he growled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi returned his attention to the captain. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow just a hair. “Did you think it coincidence that all our medical supplies were washed away during that storm? He won’t last long without them. Hanamaki needed Dragon’s Blood and this island is rife with the plants to make it. When I realized where the storm would blow us, I took a gamble to finish this ahead of plan.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Finish what?” he snapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi shook his head slowly. There was a rustling behind him and Oikawa hoped the ninja was ready for whatever was coming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy shit, Tendou was right,” a new voice spoke outside of his periphery. “Akaashi really did come through.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are always surprised, Taichi,” another voice answered. Oikawa recognised that sneer. “He’s always been good at predicting how people will act. It’s not just his violent tendencies that make him our Monster.” The man that appeared in his vision wore a satisfied smirk. A jagged scar on his head gave his hair an unfortunate asymmetry that, coupled with the tug of his lips, made him look grotesque.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shirabu.” Oikawa narrowed his eyes. He didn’t understand. They hadn’t fired upon seeing Hinata? He looked over his shoulder at the other Shiratorizawa man. He watched Oikawa with mild disinterest. A handful of other sailors burst into the clearing behind them. Oikawa was surrounded and alone. The ninja was gone. That thought should have made him angry, it should have made him lash out, but all he felt was relief. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could still feel him nearby, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Captain has been very eager to see you again,” Shirabu said, inspecting his nails as if he found the dirt beneath them more interesting than a cornered pirate rival. Which he probably did. Shirabu didn’t care for much outside of patching up his crewmates and serving his captain to the best of his ability. “You should have joined us years ago.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And be another one of Ushiwaka’s dogs? No thanks.” Oikawa kept his voice even. As much as he wanted to bait Shirabu into making a mistake, Akaashi’s gun was still trained on his chest. He calculated his chances. Ushijima probably wanted him alive, so he was confident that Akaashi wouldn’t kill him. But he could still maim him if Oikawa tried to make a move. Plus there were the others to worry about. Six against one were not good odds.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His jibe still landed, though. Shirabu’s face turned purple in his anger and he slapped Oikawa so hard the taller man saw stars. “It is a privilege to serve under Ushijma. You should be ecstatic he has taken an interest in you,” he snarled, shaking his hand out. “I don’t know what he sees in you, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa had a few good guesses as to what Ushijima wanted from him. It had never sat right with the hulking lug that Oikawa had refused his offer of employment in favor of seeking his own glory on a ship of his own. Of course, he had also declined because he refused to just be some trophy Ushijima could lord over the other pirate captains at their infrequent clandestine meetings. He wasn’t just a pretty thing to be worn in the company of others when it was convenient. He wanted a seat at the table. He had </span>
  <em>
    <span>earned</span>
  </em>
  <span> his seat at the table. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was also the worrying thought that Ushijima had learned the truth to his reputation. Lesser men than him had tried to recruit Oikawa for his preternatural ability to sense ninjas, even if they didn’t know the whole truth to it. Those men sought him as a good luck charm. He doubted even Ushijima was that naive.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s not keep him waiting,” Akaashi said, breaking Oikawa from his thoughts. “Did you come all the way here just to provoke him or are you going to make yourselves useful?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shirabu’s icy glower turned on Akaashi. The effect was dulled somewhat by the fact that Akaashi towered over him. “Don’t get all high and mighty just because you lucked out when that storm blew you here. You’re still just Fukurodani scum.” He spat in the taller man’s face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi blinked. He wiped the saliva from his brow and flicked it away before securing his grip back on the gun still pointed at Oikawa. His own pulse raced briefly, affronted that someone had </span>
  <em>
    <span>spit</span>
  </em>
  <span> at his crew before he remembered that behind the barrel of the gun was not a friend but an enemy. He redirected his anger back to the saboteur. How did he remain so calm? Did nothing get under his skin?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to give him a chance to fight back?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That lit a fire under Shirabu’s bad haircut. “Secure him,” he barked at his subordinates, not taking his eyes off Akaashi. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thick ropes restrained his wrists behind his back and finally Akaashi lowered his weapon. They stared one another down for a moment. Something close to pity crossed his face so quickly Oikawa almost missed it. Akaashi was the first to look away, casting his eyes casually towards the canopy. “I won’t beg your forgiveness for doing what I must. I made a promise to someone and struck a deal with the devil to keep it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t matter. It really didn’t, but Oikawa was pissed and couldn’t stop the words from spilling out of his mouth. “What kind of deal?” He flinched as one of the sailors tightened his restraints. Akaashi regarded him quietly. He would almost call it regret, but he was too incensed to be swayed by a pretty face with a sad frown.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re done here,” Shirabu interrupted them, gripping Oikawa’s bicep and turning him to march back towards camp as Kawanishi flanked him on the other side. “Let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The others fell in behind them. Oikawa was already calculating his next move as they walked, glancing up to the canopy for evidence of the island’s sole inhabitant. He almost missed it when Akaashi murmured, “A life for a life.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Unlikely Ally</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hinata winced in the canopy as Shirabu’s fist connected with the handsome captain’s jaw. He rubbed his own chin in sympathy. Oikawa’s eyes flashed dangerously at the man who had hit him, at the rival pirates surrounding him, at the saboteur. Hinata watched and listened as the newcomers restrained their prisoner. Once he was secure, Akaashi’s dark eyes focused on the spot in the leaves where Hinata had leapt through to hide.</p>
<p>He could have stayed on the ground. Could have helped, probably. Could have fought. It wasn’t his fight though, and despite his years of training, he didn’t know if he could bring himself to fight pirates, even in defense of another pirate. If he did, then his exile would have been for nothing.</p>
<p>“Everything ok, Akaashi?” the tall one, Kawanishi, asked, gaze warily following the line of the navigator’s sight.</p>
<p>Those cold, measuring eyes stared right through the foliage to where Hinata perched. Oikawa watched him with a clenched jaw. Hinata held his breath.</p>
<p>“Just a bird,” he said. “A breed I’ve never encountered before. I wonder if it is native to this island, or if the storm brought it in, too.”</p>
<p>Kawanishi snorted. “You’re really weird, you know?”</p>
<p>Hinata watched them go, tugging the captive captain behind them, oblivious to his furious calculating gaze. His eyes also spared a glance to the canopy, perhaps looking for the same bird his former comrade had described. There had been a cryptic note in the undercurrent of Akaashi’s voice that made Hinata think he wasn’t talking about a bird at all. It made him wonder why he didn’t say anything about the ninja who, until mere seconds before the rival crew burst into the clearing, had been there with warning.</p>
<p>He wondered about the coincidence that he should wash ashore on this island in the midst of a feud between pirates so soon after his own exile. He hadn’t been caught in the same storm as Oikawa and his ship, but the storms in this area were as unpredictable and violent as the inhabitants of the isles they shrouded.</p>
<p>He felt a pang of longing for home, even though he was no longer welcome there. For his friends and family who had urged him to denounce his beliefs, to cease his defiance and bend to the Elders will. He couldn’t help it though. He didn’t like fighting for the sake of fighting.</p>
<p>He had always been told pirates were vicious men, that you couldn’t trust them as far as you could throw them, but he also thought they were more loyal to each other. He never imagined that there would be divisions among them, hatred so deep that they might as well be mortal enemies. They weren’t all that different from the warring clans in that regard. And that <em> was </em> hatred in the captain’s eyes when he learned who his subordinate truly worked for.</p>
<p>No, Hinata did not fancy getting mixed up with that at all. He would have to find another way off the island, that was all.</p>
<p>As the sky shifted from pale blue to dusky orange though, he couldn’t deny the pull he felt towards the southern side of the island. As shadows began to fall and he grew more comfortable in his element, he leapt among the branches towards the old fort, keeping the sun behind him as it set. He was just going to scout, that’s what he told himself. There was nothing he could do, right? One lone ninja against an entire crew of armed pirates who were already raring for a fight? He didn’t leave his home just to meet his end before his journey could begin.</p>
<p>Guards were posted on the ramparts of the outer wall, a pair who were not really all that alert to outside threats judging from their leisurely conversation as they patrolled. What did they have to be on the lookout for anyway? The island was abandoned and they had taken the rival crew captive. They certainly weren’t looking for a rogue ninja. Hinata easily bypassed them to crawl over the edge of the wall further down from their point of watch.</p>
<p>He peered into the open courtyard and was not surprised to find cookfires already stoking, pots brewing the evening meal. Some of the pirates wandered between those and the wooden tables strewn about, those seated clanking mugs of some sloshing fluid. Hinata wondered just how many of the stereotypes were true, and if the men below were filling their gullets with ale. </p>
<p>That would be too serendipitous.</p>
<p>But if they were imbibing…</p>
<p>Hinata bit the inside of his cheek. He couldn’t fight them, even if they were drunk. Pirates were fierce fighters and plenty were stronger with alcohol. And he was sorely outnumbered. He counted no fewer than a dozen roaming the area, maybe two, laughing raucously or sharpening weapons or mending clothes. What could he do?</p>
<p>He followed the slight pull in his chest towards the wall on the other side of the tower. It was thicker, housing a small barracks. Or it would have been a barracks if not for the iron bars restraining the half dozen men he had come to find. In the low light he could make out Oikawa sitting apart from his crew, a fierce glower darkening his face as he stared out at the camp of rival pirates, blissful in their merriment. Maybe it was because he was so focused, he didn’t seem aware of Hinata’s presence this time. </p>
<p>His hair was loose about his shoulders, and he sat with one leg bent over the other, his arm draped over the knee and his hand hovering in front of his mouth. Every now and then he chewed on the nail of his thumb, his calculating gaze narrowing as plans formed and unraveled behind his eyes. It was the same look of hatred he’d had at the onset of their fight earlier in the day. </p>
<p>The other men huddled in a small circle, talking low amongst themselves and sending worried glances towards their captain. Hinata could also easily make out the medics and the small sailor. The tall, lanky pirate who had been concussed in the skirmish to capture them was laying with his head in pink-hair’s lap, groaning softly. They were one short.</p>
<p>The wounded man.</p>
<p>When he had left them to warn Oikawa of their predicament, the scary man had had a knife to Iwa’s throat. There wasn’t enough anger radiating from the group to signal that he’d been killed, but his absence from the rest unsettled Hinata. He’d heard pirates sometimes took captives, but taking one of those captives as hostage against the others? What were they doing to him? There were no tortured screams coming from anywhere in the camp, but Hinata wasn’t sure the silence was any better. The look on Oikawa’s face said he was thinking much along the same lines.</p>
<p>Hinata bit the inside of his cheek again as he weighed his next move. This was just a scouting mission. Something to do to pass the time. But what was he planning to do with the information he’d gathered? He could keep going, see if he could find the sixth member of the small crew and bring him to safety. But where was safe? And how would he convince the rest of what he’d done? </p>
<p>No, that wouldn’t work.</p>
<p>He could unlock the cage they were in. Locks on old cells like that one were child’s play to him. Slipping into prisons to assassinate prisoners or pass messages without being seen was something in every ninja’s repertoire. He’d done it plenty of times on jobs to the mainland. But there were still two dozen rival pirates milling about. They would have to fight their way out, and he suspected it would not be a long fight, weaponless and outnumbered as they were. </p>
<p>He sighed. There wasn’t anything he could do for them. He didn’t know why he cared. He didn’t even know them. He wasn’t stupid enough to risk his life for a pretty face, no matter how curious it was that he could feel him tugging at him.</p>
<p>The sun had fully set, the sky beginning to sparkle with stars. Instead of leaving and going back into the island and far away from all pirates, he moved through the darkness. Cloaked in the night and invisible to the torch-blind rabble-rousers, the ninja crept until he was at the edge of the cells. None of the pirates paid any mind to their captives; there wasn’t even a single man on watch. He wasn’t the only foolish one in these walls tonight.</p>
<p>“Captain,” he said, low so his voice wouldn’t carry.</p>
<p>Oikawa blinked in the darkness, his eyes less accustomed to seeing in the shadows as Hinata was, and nearly as blind as his enemies, given his study of their camp. Or maybe he was just trying to decide if his ears were deceiving him. </p>
<p>“Hinata?” he answered, voice tight with his anger. His men turned at the sound of their voices, curiosity and confusion writ on their faces.</p>
<p>The minor commotion roused the concussed sailor, and he sat up to ascertain the change in the situation. His eyes widened in fear and revulsion when he realized they were not alone. Hinata couldn’t really blame him. “Is that a ni-”</p>
<p>“Not a word,” Oikawa cut Kindaichi off with a low growl. The lanky man closed his jaw with a snap. “Unless you want to draw Shiratorizawa attention over here.” Kindaichi nodded obeisance, bringing a hand to his head when the motion aggravated his headache.</p>
<p>“Huh,” Makki mused. “Maybe Iwaizumi wasn’t hallucinating this afternoon.” </p>
<p>Oikawa frowned at him in question but he shook his head and gestured to the ninja to carry on. He didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the turn of events in which his captain was on last name basis with a supposed mortal enemy.</p>
<p>The captain narrowed his eyes at Hinata. “Why are you here?”</p>
<p>Why <em> was </em> he here? He couldn’t very well break them out alone. He’d already determined that several times over, and he thought he had made up his mind to stay out of it. </p>
<p>Didn’t feel right not to try and help, though, curiosity be damned.</p>
<p>“You seem like you could use some help,” he said. Maybe he couldn’t come up with a solid plan on his own, but surely a wise pirate captain could make use of his skills.</p>
<p>His jovial reply did not make Oikawa smile. If anything, he seemed angrier. “I could have used your help earlier. Why did you run?”</p>
<p>Hinata tried not to shrink into himself. He wasn’t a coward. “It wasn’t my fight.”</p>
<p>“And now? Did you suddenly have a change of heart?” He smiled, a baring of teeth that was far from friendly. </p>
<p>“Oikawa,” Makki warned.</p>
<p>“No, I’m curious what he thinks he can do against Ushijima’s horde.”</p>
<p>He didn’t want to fight the pirates, but neither did he want Oikawa and his men to suffer. He’d only spent an afternoon observing them, but he was sure they were good people. “Would I be here now if they had seen me with you?” he asked instead. He had somehow convinced Oikawa to spare him earlier, but he suspected these Shiratorizawa men would not be as easily swayed.</p>
<p>The reminder of the nature of their ancient blood feud struck home. The pirate clicked his tongue in frustration as he broke eye contact. Hinata looked to the medic. He was surprisingly laid-back about their situation. If Oikawa didn’t want to talk to him, maybe this Makki would.</p>
<p>“Where’s the other one? The guy who was hurt?”</p>
<p>Makki shrugged. “They took him into the tower when we got here. They kept him on the litter, though. I don’t know what they’re planning, but the fact they kept him stable makes it seem like they don’t want him dead just yet.</p>
<p>Oikawa scowled at him. “Why are you telling him anything? He’s a ninja, Hanamaki.”</p>
<p>Hinata sighed. “I’ll go check it out.” Maybe giving the captain some time alone would help him come around to the idea that he really did want to help them. Maybe Makki could convince him.</p>
<p>He slipped around to the backside of the tower and found an unguarded door. It opened easily and he crept inside without a sound. The hallway was dim, the only light coming from a room at the end, and he made his way towards it. From the edge of the door he heard low voices speaking to one another.</p>
<p>“-take good care of him,” a deep, rumbling bass said.</p>
<p>An annoyed huff answered him. “I don’t see the point. Tendou’s just gonna undo it all anyway. Captain,” he added hastily. It sounded like the same man who had confronted them in the woods.</p>
<p>“That is the point, Shirabu,” the Shiratorizawa captain said, no annoyance in his tone at being talked to so cavalierly by one if his subordinates. He sounded more like a patient father explaining something simple to a petulant child. “He needs to be whole before we can take him apart.”</p>
<p>“Aye, sir.”</p>
<p>No more was spoken, and there was movement within that sounded like someone walking away. Hinata stuck to the shadows as he peered into the room. The sandy-haired man with the nasty scar on the crown of his head was alone in the room with Oikawa’s friend. He tended to the patient’s wounds with a halting care, delicate but clearly at odds with his desire to let the man bleed out. They certainly had more medical supplies here than the marooned pirates, and the medic worked efficiently to treat the troublesome gash in Iwa’s stomach.</p>
<p>Hinata left him to his work. Iwaizumi was still alive, and getting treatment. Interrupting that, especially when he didn’t have a clear plan of escape, would be foolhardy. He could at least give the Seijoh crew some good news before they sent him on his way.</p>
<p>The Captain was sitting straighter when he returned, a glimmer of hope in his eyes where before there had been none. Hinata didn’t know what they had said while he was gone, but he was glad that whatever it was had worked. Maybe they would accept his help after all. “He’s still alive,” he said without preamble.</p>
<p>“We figured as much,” Makki mumbled, keeping his eyes on the revelers wandering about.</p>
<p>“What are they doing to him?” Oikawa asked. He tried to sound nonchalant about it, but Hinata could feel the unease radiating off of him as if it was in his own blood.</p>
<p>He relayed what he heard. “They’re patching him up for something worse I think.”</p>
<p>“Shit.” Oikawa chewed his thumb again. “No chance you could get in and get him out?”</p>
<p>“With all these pirates about?” It wasn’t that he didn’t think he could do it. But not only would he have to avoid the pirates, he wouldn't be able to move as fast. If he got caught, he would be dead. Not to mention he would have to convince the man he was a friend who wasn’t actually kidnapping him. “They do have actual medical supplies,” he offered. “It might not be a bad idea to let them tend to him first.”</p>
<p>“If they’re fixing him up, that buys us some time,” Makki said.</p>
<p>“But to do what? The five of us can’t take on the entire Shiratorizawa crew.” Hinata cleared his throat. Oikawa’s head snapped to the side at the sound. “You?”</p>
<p>“I want to help,” he said.</p>
<p>Oikawa regarded him with curious intensity. He seemed to be weighing Hinata’s worth, uncertain how he fit into their troubles. His lips pursed in a pout. <em> Cute </em>, Hinata thought before he could catch himself. Oikawa shook his head with a sigh. “I can’t ask you to fight with us.”</p>
<p><em> Stubborn </em>, he changed his mind. “Why not?” he huffed. “I’m strong!”</p>
<p>“I’m not doubting your skills chibi-chan.” He locked eyes with Hinata again, ensuring his words would be listened to. “You told me earlier, you don’t want to fight and kill pirates. It’s why you’re here in the first place, a rogue with no home to return to, right? If you fight with us, that would all be for naught.”</p>
<p>Hinata blinked. He never expected the pirate to read him so easily, never mind give him such consideration. Oikawa was scary. “Why do you care?” he asked.</p>
<p>“Why do you?”</p>
<p>They stared one another down across the iron bars for a moment. He didn’t have an answer, not one he was willing to voice aloud. He couldn’t deny he had been drawn to the interesting captain since they’d first locked eyes over crossed blades, scant hours ago. He didn’t really believe in fate or destiny, but what were the odds he had found what he was looking for when he was adrift at sea, far from home and at the lowest he’d ever been? Did Oikawa feel it too? The strange, familiar warmth buzzing just under his skin?</p>
<p>He took Hinata’s silence as answer enough. “I won’t ask you to fight with us,” he repeated, “but that doesn’t mean I won’t accept your help.” His face softened, and Hinata was granted the first genuine smile he had seen on the man. He had the fleeting thought that Oikawa should never be without a smile, and that he would do whatever he could to see it again.</p>
<p>He grinned beneath his mask, feeling the way it made his own eyes crinkle, and catching the way Oikawa’s own faltered in surprise. “Well then Captain, how can I be of service?”</p>
<p>A low chuckle startled them out of their bubble. Oikawa glared at Makki as a passing Shiratorizawa man jeered at them. He never even glanced Hinata’s way.</p>
<p>When he’d moved on, Makki made an apologetic gesture. “So what is the plan, Captain?”</p>
<p>Oikawa folded his arms across his chest and tipped his head back against the stone wall of the cell, closing his eyes in contemplation. His knee bounced impatiently, and after a moment he pulled at the leather thong on his neck to fiddle with the charm at the end. He twirled it in his fingers and Hinata’s eyes widened when it caught the light of one of the fires in the camp. It wasn’t just a silly trinket. It was a totem, a feather carved of obsidian.</p>
<p>It was a mark of the Crow.</p>
<p>“Where did you get that?” he asked, so low he wondered if the Captain even heard him.</p>
<p>“Hmm?” Oikawa opened his eyes to look at the amulet as if surprised to see it in his hands. “I’ve always had it,” he said. “It probably belonged to one of my parents, but I never knew them.” He waved the statement away, letting the feather fall to his chest. “It’s not important. What is important, is that I figured out what to do.”</p>
<p>That caught everyone’s interest, and even Hinata let that revelation slide to the back of his mind for a moment while Oikawa laid out his plan. “Aside from the obvious, being trapped in here, we’re outnumbered. We need the rest of the crew to help us fight.”</p>
<p>“And you plan to send a ninja to convince them to come to our aid?” The younger medic’s voice was incredulous.</p>
<p>“Yahaba, do you have so little faith in your captain’s grand schemes? When have I ever steered us wrong?” Yahaba and Makki exchanged querulous looks. “Ok don’t answer that, just trust me, ok?”</p>
<p>“We trust you, captain,” the other four said in eerie unison. Oikawa frowned at them, as if they were mocking him. Maybe they were. Hinata couldn’t tell; pirates were kinda weird.</p>
<p>Yahaba had a point though. </p>
<p>“But how <em> will </em> I convince them?” he asked.</p>
<p>Another smile alighted on the captain’s lips, this one devilish and full of cunning. “You convinced me, didn’t you?” Hinata frowned. That was different. It had only been the two of them then. This time he would be facing an entire ship full of men. “Don’t look so dejected, I’m not sending you without some insurance. Plus, I have faith in my men. Suga will listen when you give him my message.”</p>
<p>“I dunno cap’n, he might kill the ninja and then come and castrate you for getting Iwaizumi in this predicament.”</p>
<p>“Shut up Makki,” Oikawa hissed.</p>
<p>Hinata swallowed hard. This Suga sounded scary. “What message?” he asked, bringing the conversation back on track.</p>
<p>“‘We all have debts to pay.’ He’ll know what it means.” His eyes darkened briefly, cold and distant for a moment, and he fiddled with the amulet on his neck again. Just as quickly, a spark lit behind them, and he pulled the leather strap free and pushed it between the bars towards Hinata. “Take this with you!”</p>
<p>Hinata nearly jumped away from the totem. “Huh? No! I can’t! That’s…,” he didn’t know how to explain his reluctance, and Oikawa’s patience was wearing thin.</p>
<p>“It’s physical proof I sent you,” he said. “Just take it.”</p>
<p>Hinata bit his cheek. “Don’t you have something else?” He eyed the single gold loop in the captain’s ear, the colorful sash at his waist, surely either of those would be sufficient.</p>
<p>“Nothing that would be convincing enough,” Oikawa replied as if he could see Hinata’s thoughts. “My men know nothing would make me part with this unless it was absolutely dire.”</p>
<p>His hand hesitated before reaching out and clasping it. Oikawa relaxed once it was out of his hands and he nodded with satisfaction as Hinata threaded it carefully over his own head. He really shouldn’t. He’d been clipped of his own feather when he was banished; he had no right to the Mark now. But Oikawa was right, he would need something to convince the crew, and since none of them knew the significance of the heirloom for him, it was his key to getting on the ship.</p>
<p>He squeezed the feather once more before tucking it beneath his armor, just over his rapidly beating heart. He met Oikawa’s eyes once more. “I’ll be back.”</p>
<p>He didn’t wait for the captain to respond before he scaled the walls and fled into the night. He didn’t have time to dwell on the implications of a pirate in possession of a ninja totem. He had a job to do, a purpose, and he wasn’t about to fail now. But when he returned to the ransacked camp, he encountered another dilemma. </p>
<p>How to actually get out to the ship moored in the bay. </p>
<p>The longboats were an option, but he would stick out like a crow among gulls rowing an empty boat by himself. They might sink him. He could always swim out, climb the ropes onto the deck, find the man he was supposed to find and deliver his message that way. He was a decent swimmer, but he didn’t really want to soak his armor before a potential battle. Regardless of Oikawa’s consideration for his ideals, he wasn’t convinced he would be completely spared from the fighting. He should have asked what Suga looked like.</p>
<p>The click of a pistol hammer behind him froze him in place.</p>
<p>He was getting lax in his vigilance if he hadn’t even noticed the beach wasn’t abandoned. But then again, the man was just as cunning as his former captain. “Why didn’t you tell them about me?” he asked.</p>
<p>Akaashi circled him until they were face to face, his gun aimed firmly at Hinata’s chest. “They didn’t need to know.”</p>
<p>“I thought you’d be with them, celebrating your victory,” he said, keeping his hands still at his sides. The saboteur towered over him. Hinata was probably faster, but he didn’t want to provoke the man into shooting just yet.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t my victory. Not yet,” he added, softer, like he didn’t quite mean to say it aloud. He tilted his head to the side, considering Hinata with curiosity. “What are you doing here?”</p>
<p>Hinata chewed his lip. “I came to help.”</p>
<p>That got a reaction. Akaashi’s dark eyes widened a minimal amount, but it was more than he’d reacted when the Shiratorizawa guy spit in his face earlier in the day. His brows pulled together. “How?”</p>
<p>He seemed genuinely curious. His mind was also calculating and planning based on Hinata’s answer. Hinata wasn’t going to tell him yet. He had a feeling the traitor hadn’t shot him yet because he needed him for something, too. Akaashi’s eyes slid from Hinata to the longboats, then a quick glance over his shoulder out over the bay. When he brought his attention back to the ninja, there was clarity on his face. “You’re getting the crew.”</p>
<p>He tilted his head to the side. “Are you going to stop me?”</p>
<p>The pirate’s lips pressed to a thin line as he considered the ninja. Hinata willed his pulse to steady in case he needed to move quickly. He wasn’t sure what he expected from Akaashi, but it wasn’t the holstering of his weapon. </p>
<p>“No, I’m going to help you.”</p>
<p>“Why?” he blurted without thinking.</p>
<p>“Because you’ll never get near that ship without me. And, because I need your help, too.” Akaashi looked behind him, back towards the treeline. </p>
<p>Hinata slowly followed his gaze, wary of taking his eyes off the traitor, but curious as to what he could possibly need his help with. At the edge of the woods, in the rubble of Iwaizumi’s make-shift lean-to, huddled another figure. The man was haggard and dead-eyed, barely a shadow. Hinata could hardly sense any life from him. His black hair was long and matted, and he was wisp-thin beneath the shawl he clutched at his shoulders. His eyes might have been gold, once, had they any light left in them. They stared at nothing, not even seeing the ninja in front of him, or simply not caring.</p>
<p>“I need to get him away from here.”</p>
<p>“Who is he?”</p>
<p>“My...brother,” Akaashi said, the word falling heavy from his tongue. Hinata suspected that was simplifying their relationship, but that it was important nonetheless. Akaashi’s eyes were pained as he looked at the ghost of a man sitting cross-legged in the sand. “I promised I would come back for him.”</p>
<p>He recalled the words the man had muttered as he followed Oikawa and the Shiratorizawa pirates out of the clearing where he had revealed his treachery. <em> A life for a life. </em>There was a simple honesty in the logic that led to his mutiny, the same that led to his offer of help. Akaashi had risked everything to save his friend, his brother. Hinata understood that pain. Cut off from everyone he had ever loved, he could never reach them again. He wondered how far he would go to make sure they were safe.</p>
<p>“Okay.”</p>
<p>Akaashi startled for the second time. A slight jerk of his head, like he didn’t quite hear what Hinata had said. “Okay?”</p>
<p>“I need your help to get on the ship to talk to Suga. You need an alibi. You’re not going to turn on me before he’s safe, so let’s work together and get everyone home.”</p>
<p>Akaashi stared at him disbelievingly for a long moment. “You’re a strange ninja,” he said, slow and curious. Hinata shrugged. A flicker passed over Akaashi’s face, fleeting and faint but Hinata saw the slight quirk of his lips, the softening of his brow. “You kind of remind me of him,” he said.</p>
<p>“Who?”</p>
<p>But he shook his head, not caring to elaborate. “It doesn’t matter. We have to hurry if we’re going to get the <em> Aoba Johsai </em> prepped for battle.” He walked over to the longboats and flipped one over, pushing it towards the dark water. He pointed to the other. “We’ll need them both. You row that one. I’ll bring Kuroo in this one.”</p>
<p>“Yessir!” He flipped his boat over and dragged it to the water’s edge next to Akaashi’s, then helped him move the broken man into the boat. He gave Hinata a curious look, like he was trying to place what was odd about him, but settled on the bench without much fuss. Hinata followed Akaashi out to the ship, slipping his oars under the water as silently as he could so their approach wouldn’t be too obvious.</p>
<p>As they got within shouting distance, someone on the deck called out to them. “Ho! Who goes there?”</p>
<p>“It’s Akaashi. I’ve got someone who needs to see Suga.”</p>
<p>“Where’s the rest of the crew?”</p>
<p>“That’s what we need to talk to Suga about. Hurry up and bring the boats up,” he added in a tone that brooked no argument.</p>
<p>“Boats?” The sailor glanced down to see the second boat with Hinata in it. He scrambled back from the rail. “Ninja!” he cried.</p>
<p>Akaashi sighed as the alarm was raised. “He’s with me,” he shouted back. “And unless you want to see the captain and the others again, you’d best do as I say, and bring us both up.” Hinata suppressed a shiver at the chill in his voice. He was clearly used to having his orders followed, and this lapse in protocol brought out something murderous in his tone.</p>
<p>“Akaashi?” Another man joined the first at the railing, peering over the side and squinting into the dark. His fair hair shimmered in the faint lantern lights behind him. “What’s going on? Where are the others? Hajime, is he-”</p>
<p>“Suga, we’ll explain everything, just bring us up. Please.”</p>
<p>He spared one curious glance for the boat with the ninja, but began issuing orders that they do as Akaashi said.</p>
<p>Hinata swallowed his nerves as his longboat was hoisted to the railing. How long would Akaashi’s word hold them from shooting? Especially once they learned what he’d done? Their tenuous alliance grew more tenuous with every second closer to the revelation of the truth.</p>
<p>He shielded his eyes from the lanterns as the away vessel was brought level with the deck. From beneath his arm he could see the legs of at least a dozen pirates. He heard them draw their swords or cock their pistols.</p>
<p>“Put those away,” Akaashi barked. “He’s not a threat.”</p>
<p>Hinata lowered his arm to see several weapons pointed at him, but also one pointed at Akaashi. The beautiful pirate with hair of spun silver steadied his aim at the navigator’s chest. “Why have you brought a ninja to our vessel?” He leered at Kuroo huddling behind Akaashi, an impressive feat given his height. “And a stray? What the fuck is going on?” he snarled.</p>
<p>Akaashi ignored the man’s venom, dropping onto the deck with practiced ease and turning to help Kuroo do the same. He acted as if he were coming home from a long trip and a warm welcome as opposed to an armed resistance. “He has a message from the captain.”</p>
<p>“And why is the captain unable to speak for himself? Keiji, I will shoot you if you don’t start talking.”</p>
<p>“We all have debts to pay!” Hinata shouted, drawing the attention back to himself.</p>
<p>Suga turned to him with a querulous glance. “What did you say?”</p>
<p>He dug the mark of the Crow out from under his armor and held it out in the light where they couldn’t mistake what it was. “Oikawa. He gave me this and told me to tell you that we all have debts to pay.”</p>
<p>A low murmur broke out among the gathered pirates. He didn’t know why that phrase was significant, but they seemed more hesitant to kill him now. Suga frowned, tilting his head towards Akaashi but keeping his eyes on Hinata. “Did you tell him that?” His gun was still leveled at Akaashi.</p>
<p>The traitor snorted his amusement. “No, I had no idea what Oikawa told him.”</p>
<p>A man taller than any Hinata had seen yet, with hair not quite as curly as Akaashi’s but with the thickest eyebrows to ever adorn a face, clapped a hand on Suga’s shoulder, easing his weapon arm down. “Maybe we should hear them out somewhere more private?”</p>
<p>Hinata had once seen a boar tear a foolish young wolf to shreds to protect its den. The look Suga gave this wall of a man reminded him of the boar’s eyes. He hoped he wasn’t about to witness a murder.</p>
<p>“Everyone not on watch, back to bed,” he barked. “You four, with me. Captain’s cabin. Now.” Hinata doubted anyone was going to get any sleep tonight.</p>
<p>He helped Akaashi carry Kuroo, whose body trembled and whose eyes stared wide at the planks beneath his feet. They trailed after the tall man, who followed Suga at a leisurely pace, his long legs easily keeping stride. Suga held the door to the captain’s cabin open and gestured them inside with a hefty glower for each. When they were all inside, he shut the door behind him and stood in front of it, cutting off their escape route before they could even think about escaping.</p>
<p>“Talk.”</p>
<p>Hinata glanced at Akaashi. He settled Kuroo on the edge of the bunk, keeping a solid hand on his shoulder to ground him. “Tell him everything, Hinata. Don’t hold anything back.” Suga narrowed his eyes at the man briefly, but focused back on Hinata when he started to speak.</p>
<p>“Your friends are being held captive by another group of pirates on the far side of the island. There’s an old fort there, and apparently they use it as a base. Their captain is a man named Ushijima.”</p>
<p>The tall man cursed. Suga’s eyes darkened. “What does Shiratorizawa want with them?”</p>
<p>“I think they wanted the captain. When they captured him, I overheard them talking about it.”</p>
<p>“You watched it happen?”</p>
<p>“I had run into him and Akaashi earlier in the day. After we parted ways I kept tripping over your people, and eventually found their camp. I watched them for a while, and was there when the others came and took them. I ran back to find the captain, to warn him, but…,” Hinata’s eyes flickered to Akaashi. <em> Everything? </em> A nod. “But Akaashi turned on him and said he was the one who brought you all here.”</p>
<p>“You?” Suga hissed. Akaashi stood firm. He knew and accepted his fate. Hinata admired him for that, despite the circumstances. Suga’s face paled. “Hajime,” he whispered. He stormed over to Akaashi and gripped his vest in his fists. “What did they do to Hajime?”</p>
<p>“Iwaizumi was being treated by their best,” he said. “Hinata confirmed it.”</p>
<p>Suga didn’t loosen his hold. “Why?”</p>
<p>“They said,” Hinata licked his lips, “they said they wanted him whole. That someone named Tendou was going to take him apart.” Oikawa said Suga wouldn’t shoot the messenger, but he certainly looked ready to murder now.</p>
<p>Things moved very quickly after that. Akaashi was on the floor, cradling his jaw. The tall man had his arms around Suga, pulling him away from Akaashi as he flailed and tried to land another punch. Kuroo finally had some life in him, hovering over Akaashi, panic-stricken.</p>
<p>“Matsukawa, put me <em> down </em>!” Suga snarled. “He’s sentenced them all to death! Don’t you see? All of them! Makki will die too! The least this bastard deserves is the same!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, ok, I get where you’re coming from, but let’s not shoot first and ask questions later, hmm?” His voice was intended to be soothing, but behind his dark eyes were darker designs.</p>
<p>“Keiji, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Kuroo was muttering, hands fluttering in front of Akaashi’s face, unsure of what to do to help. “This is all my fault.”</p>
<p>“What’s done is done, Testu. I chose this.” He looked passed the rat's nest of hair to his former crewmates. “You have every right to kill me-” Kuroo whimpered at that, “-but the fact of the matter is they need our help. We can still save them.”</p>
<p>“Why should I listen to anything you have to say?” Suga spat. He wrestled out of Matsuakwa’s grasp with a sharp elbow to his ribs and drew his pistol again. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t just shoot you right here.”</p>
<p>Kuroo clutched Akaashi to his chest with a strangled yelp. Hinata stepped between them. Suga’s glower hardened on him. “He knows their weaknesses,” he blurted out. “He came back to help, let him help.”</p>
<p>“And what’s your deal, hm?” He pressed the gun towards Hinata. “Why do you really have the captain’s heirloom? He would never part with that willingly. Why should I trust the word of a complete stranger, especially one who hides his face?” </p>
<p>The air in the cabin was charged with their anger. He had to find a way to diffuse it so they could make a plan and rescue the others. He had to convince them. Oikawa put his trust in him. He couldn’t fail him. He had to give them a reason to trust him, too. If knowing his face would put them at ease, so be it.</p>
<p>With steady hands, he reached for his mask at either side of his face and pulled it down off his nose, letting it hang loose about his neck. He pulled his headband off for good measure, too. Despite being fully clothed in the rest of his armor, he felt completely exposed. Without his mask, he was naked. He bit his lip and swallowed his pride. “Please. We just want to save them.”</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>Shock replaced the anger in Suga’s eyes, and he deflated at the earnest note in Hinata’s voice and the openness in his unveiled face. Matsukawa whistled low, a slow grin spreading across his face. The tension dissipated with their softening edges and Suga holstered his gun. “I still have questions,” he said, but his voice was lighter, closer to curious than demanding.</p>
<p>“We’ll answer them,” Akaashi said.</p>
<p>Hinata sighed with relief, and turned around to offer Akaashi a grateful smile. He and Kuroo both looked at him like they’d seen a ghost for the briefest of moments, but then they returned his smile. Kuroo’s was strained, like his face was trying to remember how, but Akaashi’s was sad, like it was seeing something rare he would never see again. </p>
<p>Suga leaned against the large carved desk at the side of the room. “Start from the beginning. You’re Shiratorizawa?”</p>
<p>“Fukurodani.” Kuroo had helped Akaashi up off the floor and they were seated on the edge of the bunk again. Akaashi rubbed his bruising jaw and continued. “We were working with Ushijima to pay off a debt.”</p>
<p>“It was my fault,” Kuroo interjected. “It was my fuck-up! They should have just killed me then.”</p>
<p>“Koutarou would never have allowed that,” Akaashi snapped back. “We all made our choices.” Kuroo averted his gaze, unable to accept whatever implications Akaashi was laying out. The saboteur returned his attention to Suga. “Ushijima does not take prisoners often, particularly not those who have committed a grave offense against him, but we made a bargain to spare Kuroo’s life. He would keep Kuroo until such time as we could bring him the person he wanted most. Oikawa.”</p>
<p>Suga’s brows pinched together. “What does he want Oikawa for?”</p>
<p>“Didn’t ask,” Akaashi shrugged. “I left the <em> Fukurodani </em> and joined the <em> Aoba Johsai </em> to get close to Oikawa. When that storm blew us this direction, I dumped our supplies overboard and steered us towards this island. Ushijima is often in these waters this time of year, so when the storm cleared I sent a message that I was ready to make good on our bargain.”</p>
<p>“Two years, Keiji? You sailed with us for two years only to turn him over to that madman?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “I promised Bokuto I would get Kuroo back to him.” Kuroo clutched his arm. He patted the man’s hand gently. “If I can secure his safe return, I will fight with you. I owe Seijoh that much.”</p>
<p>“That’s really for the captain to decide,” Suga frowned. “He’s likely to just execute you on sight, you know that.”</p>
<p>“I’m already living on borrowed time. My life has been forfeit since I left the <em> Fukurodani </em>.”</p>
<p>“Keiji,” Kuroo croaked.</p>
<p>Suga pinched the bridge of his nose. “And you? What’s your part in all this?” He turned his head towards the ninja.</p>
<p>Hinata jumped at the sudden address. “I’m just a bystander. I was marooned here, same as you.”</p>
<p>“But you’re a ninja?” he asked, as if he didn’t quite believe what his eyes were telling him.</p>
<p>“Sort of? I was born and raised and trained ninja, but I don’t really have a home with them anymore on account of I don’t really see the point in killing pirates just for the sake of killing pirates.”</p>
<p>Suga blinked in confusion. Matsukawa cackled. “Oh I like this one. Can we keep him?”</p>
<p>“He’s not a pet, Mattsun,” Suga rolled his eyes. He regarded Hinata with the same curiosity the others he met had given him throughout the day. “So you’re a ninja that won’t kill pirates and the captain sent you to us for help?”</p>
<p>“That about sums it up, yeah.” Hinata nodded with a wide grin.</p>
<p>“But you’ll fight with us?”</p>
<p>Hinata hesitated. Oikawa said he wouldn’t ask him to, but he wasn’t sure he had much choice at this point. He had thrown his lot in with Seijoh when he offered to help them. “I’ll do what I can.” He hoped he wouldn’t have to kill any pirates, but he would do what he had to if it meant surviving and helping Seijoh win.</p>
<p>Suga sighed. “Then let’s get to work. We’ve got a lot of planning to do before the sun rises in a few hours.” He bared his teeth in a feral grin. “Those Shiratorizawa bastards won’t know what hit them.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Negotiation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: This is where the torture tag becomes relevant. And also where bodies start dropping.<br/><em>I'm sorry.</em></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Some time before dawn, a pair of hulking Shiratorizawa brutes Oikawa had never met before dragged him out of the tower holding cells towards the tower proper. The hour was ridiculous, but he supposed that was the point. His enemy must have calculated he would be too tired to put up any sort of fight. He pretended to be more exhausted than he was, an act that would fool these underlings, but one Ushijima would see through as soon as they set eyes on one another. His captive crew called out insults at them when they tugged on him too roughly. He suppressed a smug grin. At least they had some of their energy back. He hoped it would be enough if Hinata came back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No, not if. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>When.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had to believe the ninja would succeed. Suga was a shrewd man, he would see the same earnestness Oikawa had during their first fight. If he had fallen so swiftly to Hinata’s charms, surely Suga would as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The interior of the tower was cool and dank, moss clinging to the upper levels where brooms could not reach. Not that he suspected Ushijima’s men spent any significant amount of time here to warrant cleaning the highest reaches. Torches in sconces along the circular wall filled the room with flickering light. Shadows danced along the dusty wooden floor and in the stone crevices surrounding him and especially on the hardened face that sat in a giant carved chair at the center of the room. A veritable throne on a makeshift dais. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And people said </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> had a flair for the dramatic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oikawa.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tried not to stumble forward as he was released, but his handlers shoved him anyway. Oikawa shot the men a glare as he straightened, dusting off his breeches with an exaggerated motion. He folded his arms across his chest as cavalierly as possible when he bared his teeth at the rival captain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ushiwaka.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had only encountered the man a handful of times over the course of his own captaincy, though he’d known of him far longer. He was another prodigy, young to have such a fierce reputation, but there was a sea of wreckage to prove it did not come unfounded. Oikawa had nearly lost his own ship in a skirmish with the massive galleon several years back. If there was anyone he hated more than ninjas, it was Ushijima Wakatoshi and the crew of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shiratorizawa</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice place you got here,” he said, casually scanning the room for anything he might be able to use to strangle or stab the beast. “Bit cramped in the holding cells though. You could at least give us our own rooms. Maybe some dinner. Not very hospitable of you, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am not in the habit of treating my prisoners as honored guests.” His eyes appeared black in the torchlight, the shadows dancing across his face making the weathered skin look like chiseled stone. He was not without scars, the faded line on his lip had been a gift from Oikawa himself in their last battle, but most were hidden by his garments. The thin line of his lips quirked ever so slightly, and Oikawa felt his blood run cold. Ushijima was dangerous at the best of times. A smiling Ushijima was a walking death sentence. “I am not unkind, however. I would gladly treat your crew as my own, if you would join me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment, there was no movement, no sound. Then a low rumble filled the room, gentle at first before rising in a crescendo and bouncing off the walls. Oikawa didn’t even realize it was his own laughter until he caught the hard look returning to Ushijima’s face. “I’m sorry,” he breathed, arms clutching his stomach in his hysterics. “I never knew you were such a joker.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am serious.” He leaned back in the ridiculous chair, bulky arms settling over the supports on either side. He clasped his hands over his broad chest and leered at Oikawa. Even seated, he loomed larger than Seijoh’s captain. “One way or another, you will join me. Whether your crew live or die is entirely up to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Counter offer,” he snapped. “You release us all and I don’t blast your gaudy vessel to smithereens.” Oikawa’s jaw clenched as he glowered at the other captain. He couldn’t help it. Ushijima brought out the worst in him, even when he didn’t have a leg to stand on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ushijima frowned, disappointment creasing his brows. He sighed. “Your foolish pride will be your downfall.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t you ever look down on this pride of mine,” he snarled. He was proud. Proud of his exploits. Proud of his crew. Proud to be a pirate renowned enough to stoke fear in some isles and awe in others. Proud he had done all of that through sheer hard work. No one could say he hadn’t earned his acclaims.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pride wasn’t going to be enough to save them, though, even he knew that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ushijima continued to frown at him. Oikawa hated it. “Pride gets people killed, Oikawa.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Oikawa could offer a witty retort, Ushijima snapped his fingers and a door at the back of the room opened to reveal three men. Oikawa immediately placed the tallest, wild red hair recognizable even in the scant light. The Monster of Shiratorizawa, Tendou Satori. He didn’t recognize the other rival crew member, but he did know the man between them. Would know him anywhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His heart caught in his throat as they ushered Iwaizumi into the room. He was conscious at least, glaring daggers at everyone despite the pain still evident in his eyes. Hinata was right; they had patched him up. A fresh bandage wound tight about his waist, and from the crisp whiteness of the cloth, Oikawa knew it had been changed recently. He focused intently on it, waiting for the slightest jostling to bring out a crimson flower, but even as Tendou and the other muscle forced Iwaizumi into a chair before lashing him to it, nothing bloomed. The stitches held even as Iwaizumi jerked against his restraints.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, now, Iwakkun,” Tendou purred. “We don’t want to ruin all of Shirabu’s excellent handiwork yet.” He patted the bandage around Iwaizumi’s abdomen with a sneer. His face was inches from Iwaizumi as he did so, and the first mate had enough energy to smash his forehead against the Monster’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pride flooded through Oikawa at the sight of Iwa-chan’s defiance, but Tendou's shrieking laughter left him feeling cold. Before he could lunge forward to help, to stop the fist from cracking across Iwa’s jaw, strong arms wrapped him up from behind and similarly restrained him in a chair opposite Iwaizumi. Ushijima watched the spectacle impassively.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oooh, I knew I liked this one,” Tendou trilled. He brought his fist to his lips, and Oikawa cringed as he watched the man’s tongue dart out from his mouth to lick the blood on his knuckles. In a flash, the same hand forcefully gripped Iwa’s chin as the other twirled a small blade between his fingers. “We’re going to have so much fun.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s the point of healing me if you’re just gonna cut me open again?” Iwa spat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa bit his tongue. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupid.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tendou’s grin split his face in the rictus that gave him his nickname. The torches illuminated the many jagged scars across his pale skin and Oikawa recalled the rumors that they were not all battle-earned. Some were self-inflicted. His voice when he spoke was not in the high pitched glee he typically spoke with. If Oikawa were a lesser man, and not so hot with rage, he might have shivered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I like my prey whole when I start breaking them.” He moved behind Iwaizumi, wrenching the other man’s neck in the hand that still gripped him. The knife in his other hand pressed a thin line into the exposed flesh. Tendou tilted his head so that it rested against Iwaizumi’s sweat-damp hair as he narrowed his gaze towards Oikawa. “Which of you will break first, I wonder?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa gritted his teeth at Iwa’s sharp intake of breath. A scarlet ribbon appeared at the knife’s edge. “We won’t,” he swallowed, the motion pressing the blade a sliver deeper, “we’ll never join you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tendou’s grin grew impossibly wider. “That’s what they all say.” He removed the blade and released Iwa’s head with a shove. “I certainly hope you last longer than the great Owl King’s precious kitten. He gave in so fast I didn’t even get to enjoy breaking him,” he said with a sigh and shake of his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Owl King? Bokuto Koutaro of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fukurodani</span>
  </em>
  <span> was another of the most feared pirate captains in the region. Or he had been, until they’d had a run-in with Ushijima and the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shiratorizawa</span>
  </em>
  <span> a few years ago. Most pirate crews gave each other wide berths. They were territorial creatures by habit, though sometimes their purviews overlapped and sometimes young captains tried to press their luck to expand their territory and claim another’s, but they usually tried to avoid all out war. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were rumors that Fukurodani had pressed too far into Shiratorizawa territory and that was what led to their skirmish, but that had never sat right with Oikawa. Bokuto was wild and unpredictable at the best of times, but he wasn’t a fool. He and Ushijima, along with a man named Kiryuu of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mujinazaka</span>
  </em>
  <span> and Sakusa of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Itachiyama</span>
  </em>
  <span>, were veritable pirate royalty. A squabble between them would shake up the entire unstable hierarchy and be deadly besides. There had been casualties, but nothing on the scale as a battle between giants would predicate.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So what did he have to do with this? Oikawa bounced the phrase around his mind again. His kitten. Tendou was cruel, but Oikawa was pretty sure he delighted in tearing apart human bodies, not animals. Cats weren’t common on pirate ships, but they weren’t unheard of either. Some captains liked them to control the rat population.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Black Cat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course. Bokuto’s right hand. Kuroo Tetsurou was a dangerous fighter, a known provocateur. He had practically vanished after that incident. He wasn’t the only one to leave Fukurodani at that time either. Kuroo may have been his right hand and many people assumed he was the first mate, but Oikawa had always had his suspicions there was another man behind the Owl. One who carved the path for him to strike as devastatingly as he did. One who also seemingly vanished as Fukurodani fell into disrepute.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi had been among a handful of recruits Oikawa brought on to replace retiring and deceased members. The timing was roughly the same. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Fukurodani scum.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>A life for a life.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That bastard. Just how long of a con had he been planning? He was devoted, Oikawa would give him that, but two years in and he made his move after a chance storm blew them right to Ushijima’s doorstep? Oikawa bit the inside of his cheek to keep from cursing aloud. He’d thought it was Akaashi’s concerns for Iwaizumi that had made him uncharacteristically tense, but his desperation had clearly been directed elsewhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He understood, though. He would do the same for any of his crew. That thought didn’t lessen his anger any, didn’t assuage the sting of betrayal, but he understood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What he didn’t understand, was what Ushijima wanted from him. Joining his crew was a means to an end. It wasn’t just Oikawa’s skills as a sailor or charming good looks Ushijima wanted on his crew. He forced himself to look away from the trickle of blood meandering down Iwaizumi’s throat and meet the rival captain’s stony stare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ushijima was a straightforward man. Some people took his simplistic approach to mean he was stupid, but his mind was as sharp as his jawline. Those people who thought to outwit him were likely buried out at sea. Ushijima was no fool, so he didn’t need Oikawa to elaborate before responding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have done research into our old foes. Did you know some of them can sense their own?” That did surprise Oikawa. He’d never really cared to know more about the ninjas except for how to avoid them, to keep them from slitting his throat or his crew’s in their sleep when they journeyed ashore. “You have a reputation, you know,” he went on as if he couldn’t see the gears already turning in Oikawa’s head, the channel leading him to an uncomfortable expanse. “We all must. It is part and parcel of captaining a pirate ship. Your claim to fame is far more interesting than mine.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes cut to Tendou. The monster grinned with sadistic glee as he wrenched Iwaizumi’s head back by his hair again. This time his knife hovered dangerously over Iwa’s right eye. His chest heaved as he struggled against his restraints, trying to gain even the barest sliver of distance between his eye and the gleaming silver blade threatening to take his sight. His gaze caught Oikawa’s and he raised his eyebrows warningly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t you dare give in.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How is it you always know where the ninjas are?” Ushijima asked as casually as if he were asking about the weather or going over inventory reports.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa bared his teeth. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” He jerked his head towards Iwaizumi. “If I always knew where they were, Iwa-chan wouldn’t have needed Shirabu’s skill with a needle and thread.” He didn’t care to admit his failings to his rival, but he would sacrifice some small measure of pride if it would throw Ushijima off the scent he was chasing. Especially if it would keep him from giving voice to Oikawa’s deepest fears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t fall for Oikawa’s bluff, though. He nodded at the red haired man, silent permission to get to work. Tendou’s cackle mingled with Iwa’s screams as the knife pierced its target. Oikawa thrashed against his bindings, screaming obscenities and pleas. “I’m not a ninja!” he cried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course not.” Ushijima’s brows furrowed as if Oikawa had suddenly been covered in scales and turned into a fish. It would have been funny if Iwaizumi’s pained shouts weren’t reverberating in his sternum. “We would not be conversing as associates if you were actually one of them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will never associate with you, you overgrown bilge rat.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ushijima ignored that. “You are not ninja, but you do have ninja blood. You can find them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi screamed again. The Monster had moved his blade down to his chest, carving a lazy, meandering river towards the old wound. Blood poured from his damaged eye, his face a mangled mess. The breath left Oikawa’s lungs at the sight. Iwa had already lost so much blood this week. How much more could he really take?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t go seeking them!” he snarled. “In fact I do my best to avoid them!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You misunderstand,” Ushijima said, rising to inspect Tendou’s handiwork. Iwaizumi flinched away from his touch as the giant wiped some of the blood from Iwaizumi’s cheek with his thumb. He inspected it like he might a particularly interesting pile of treasure. He rubbed the blood between his fingers before clenching them into a fist. “I am taking the fight to their lands. I will eradicate them from this world.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned back to face Oikawa again, face carved like stone. His eyes were darker than Oikawa had ever seen them.  “You will guide us to them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was insane. Ushijima was absolutely, off the deep end, insane. Sailing into the Shrouded Isles was a death sentence for a pirate. Only merchant ships were granted safe passage.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like hell,” he spat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Iwaizumi groaned with a prodded finger at his bandaged abdomen. Tendou was really getting off on poking him while he writhed, unable to escape. The cloth wrappings were beginning to turn ruddy, the cuts on his chest and face dripping blood on them, but the spot where the ninja’s blade had gutted him remained pure as snow. Oikawa doubted that would last much longer. He doubted Iwa would last much longer once it tore anew.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The longer you fight me on this, the more of your men will die.” Ushijima sighed, as if he truly lamented killing a rival crew. “I would prefer not to squander manpower for this endeavor, but we can always recruit more.” He waved his bloodstained hand behind him and Tendou took the motion as an order to continue. He continued speaking over Iwaizumi’s pained cries. “I actually like Iwaizumi. He’s an excellent sailor and a strong fighter. But I will kill him if I must.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Panic rose in Oikawa’s throat. He would never submit to Ushijima, of all people, but he knew the man. He was single-minded in his pursuits, not unlike Oikawa, a comparison that chafed at him. If he said he would do something, kill someone, wage war on an ancient foe, he would do it. Iwaizumi would die for nothing if he refused to bend for the sake of his pride.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tooru.” Iwaizumi rasped his name, intruding on his thoughts. He forced himself to look at his best friend, at his mangled eye and carved up skin. He was so pale already. He couldn’t help but recall his promise to Suga, that he would bring Iwaizumi back in one piece.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa swallowed a whine, tried to refocus his energy on anger instead of fear. He would not cry in front of Ushijima. “Save your breath,” he commanded. He was still the captain, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You can’t surrender,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he said anyway. The Shiratorizawa men exchanged a quizzical glance at the sound of foreign words. Oikawa’s heart lurched in his chest. It was a language only they knew, one they had made up as kids, growing up on the docks and hopping from ship to ship before finding a home of their own, trash talking anyone who looked down on them. They rarely used it these days, and the sound was both nostalgic and foreboding. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>No matter what, you can’t surrender.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hajime, I can’t just let them kill you either.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>This isn’t your fault. Don’t join them. You can’t go after the ninja.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Oikawa bit his lip as he thought of the bizarre little ninja he’d found on this island. There was at least one who didn’t want to kill pirates on sight. Could there be others? Is that where he came from? “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tell Suga I’m sorry.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That jolted him out of his reverie. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You can tell him yourself, asshole. We’re getting out of this, both of us, alive.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, that’s enough of that,” Tendou said as he dug his fingers into the old wound in Iwaizumi’s stomach. “It’s rude to leave people out of a conversation when they’re standing right here,” he trilled over Iwaizumi’s piercing cry. Tendou twisted his hand in the freshly torn hole and Iwaizumi’s voice choked to silence as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, leaving him still and motionless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“NO!” Oikawa tugged against the ropes again, vision blurring at the edges as he tried to make out the rise and fall of his best friend’s chest. “Hajime!” He couldn’t see anything but red. On Iwa-chan’s face. His torso. Tendou’s hair. His hand, which the Monster licked with a dissatisfied pout. Red, red, </span>
  <em>
    <span>red</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A commotion outside drew Ushijima’s attention towards the door. Oikawa barely registered the noise over the blood rushing in his ears and the thrumming rising in his veins. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before they could investigate, the door burst open and a softer red filled Oikawa’s vision. Red like the dawn sky, mixed with gold and shining bright, clad in black like the receding night, rolled over the Monster like a wave at high tide. On his tail, two others, tall and dark haired, one a familiar balm, the other a recent wound.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Akaashi?” Ushijima’s voice was surprised, to say the least, as the steely-eyed saboteur locked blades with him. “Our business was settled,” he said, frustration bleeding into his confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi didn’t deign to reply to him. “Hinata, help the Captain won’t you? Leave this to me.” Ushijima frowned at the insolence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Matsukawa had engaged with Tendou, leaving Hinata to free Oikawa. A well-placed kunai released him immediately. Oikawa met Akaashi’s eyes over his shoulder. He didn’t know why the man had come back, what he was playing at, but if he was going to buy him a moment, he wouldn’t fight against the current taking him where he needed to be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hinata was already hovering at Iwaizumi’s side, rolling him off the floor. His chair had gotten knocked over in the scuffle with Tendou but the ropes that had bound him pooled on the floor with ends sliced identically to those Oikawa had left behind. The Captain nearly slipped in the blood pooling at his feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s still breathing,” Hinata’s voice said, measured and calm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa wondered if his panic was that evident on his face to be receiving so much sympathy from this ninja he had known less than a day. The blood pulsing in him trembled and steadied with the soothing tone. He tore off his sash and used it to staunch the reopened wound with HInata’s help. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Behind them, Tendou taunted Matsukawa as his short blades danced with Mattsun’s sabre. Oikawa thought he heard Makki’s name come up. If he had a moment to think about anything other than stopping Iwaizumi from bleeding out he would have wondered how the Monster knew so much about his crew. They spat insults back and forth as they exchanged blows, theirs a battle of wits as much as blades. Ushijima and Akaashi’s fight was silent by comparison.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hinata tore a strip of cloth from his own armor and wrapped it around Iwaizumi’s head. Oikawa almost hissed at the ninja not to touch him, but Hinata’s hands were deft and gentle. His honey eyes caught the flickering torchlight and reflected it back. This was a man accustomed to death and injury, part of a lineage of shadows and murder, who had stared into that darkness and chosen to see light instead. He wasn’t about to lose anyone else, friend or foe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You came back,” he said instead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hinata nodded. A crease to his eyes revealed the smile hidden beneath his mask. “I promised, didn’t I?” He tied off the cloth and wiped some of the blood from Iwaizumi’s face with his sleeve. The tender gesture made Oikawa’s chest tighten in a way he never expected to associate with an enemy. He blamed the steady rhythm of the familiar thrum of his blood. He trusted Hinata.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you carry him?” Oikawa’s voice was quiet, unsure of the words leaving his mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.” The ninja draped the dying man over his back with surprising ease. Even Oikawa struggled to lift Iwaizumi when he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> dead weight. Hinata glanced around the room, assessing his exit path. The duels were on opposite sides of the room, and he had a clear shot to the door, but there was more fighting going on outside. Shouts and gunshots, the clang of metal on metal, rang out into the night. It was not going to be easy. Amber eyes looked Oikawa over with curiosity. “What will you do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The captain stood to his full height, tying his hair back with a leather thong he had pulled from Iwaizumi’s pockets. The man always had extras for him. “I’m going to finish this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hinata didn’t waste another breath to wish him luck. He shifted Iwaizumi on his back and dashed back out into the fray. He wasn’t as fast with his burden, but he was still faster than Oikawa or Matsukawa could have been.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His quartermaster was locked in his duel with the Monster. The wild-eyed freak wailed in frustration as he saw his quarry leave. “You’re working with one of them?” he shrieked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The shrimp isn’t all bad,” Mattsun quipped. “Maybe we’ll convert him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa tuned them out, glancing around for a weapon, anything he could use to get the upper hand on Ushijima. Akaashi’s boots slid against the floor at a powerful shove from the Shiratorizawa captain. Oikawa was torn between jumping to his aid, as Akaashi had for him many times over the course of their friendship, or leaving him to struggle alone, as befitted a traitor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ushijima made the decision for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The muscles in his arms rippled as he pushed through the deadlock through sheer force, knocking Akaashi off balance. In the opening he made, he thrust the point of his blade through the shorter man’s stomach. He bared his teeth, a feral expression of victory that painted his face with the terror befitting his reputation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi dropped his blade to the ground. It rolled to Oikawa’s feet. Then he watched as Akaashi placed a hand on one of Ushijima’s shoulders, pulling him closer and driving the blade in his torso through to the other side. The grin faded from Ushijima’s eyes as Akaashi’s other hand, the hand that had dropped his sword, reached behind him. He had another blade hidden there, if Oikawa remembered correctly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ushijima’s eyes went wide with realization, but he wasn’t quick enough to completely avoid Akaashi’s last stand. The traitor’s hands were swift, even in the throes of what had to be agonizing pain. His dagger, while it missed its intended target, still struck true. Ushijima lunged back from him, taking the weapon in his shoulder instead of his throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tendou flinched at his captain’s shout. They were both cut and bruised and panting, but Matsukawa used his momentary distraction to land a blow to his side. Tendou rolled with the punch, scrambling away from their duel to aid Ushijima.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With Mattsun joining him, Oikawa took the brief intermission to see to Akaashi. Ushijima had practically thrown him to the floor when he staggered away from Akaashi’s blow, and he grimaced in pain as Oikawa tried to lift his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell were you thinking?” Oikawa hissed. He didn’t have anything handy to staunch the bleeding and it vexed him that he even cared. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi coughed, a thin trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth. “I was never Shiratorizawa, and once my business with Ushijima was concluded, I came back.” He inhaled sharply as Mattsun pressed his hands into the wound. “Despite my selfishness and mutiny, Seijoh has been good to me. I could not leave things as they were.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His breathing grew shallower. Mattsun’s eyes met the captain’s and he shook his head balefully. There wasn’t anything they could do. Not with a battle still raging all around them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi raised a trembling hand to clutch at Oikawa’s vest. “I know...I have no right...to ask anything of you,” he groaned between shaky breaths. “But please. Please get Testu back...to Kou.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa liked to think he knew his crew better than anyone, better than they knew themselves. It was his duty as their captain, so that he could utilize their strengths and bring out their full potential. His knowledge of his crew gave him insight to the relationships that waxed and waned like the moon, alerted him to potential quarrels well before they could turn into such, and helped him stoke fires that may otherwise have been left to fizzle out, leaving everyone colder. He knew the heart and soul of each man who had pledged to serve him, but in two years, he had never fully grasped the heart of Akaashi Keiji.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A man often shows his truest self in the moments before he dies. Watching the life drain out of him now, Oikawa finally understood. He was seeing the real Akaashi. A calculating adversary who had risked everything to save a friend. A sailor devoted to his captain and crew to the end. His betrayal still stung, Oikawa did not take kindly to being relegated to second best, but Akaashi had come back to help his crew.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I cannot forgive you,” Oikawa said, easing Akaashi’s hand off his shirt. Panic flashed through the dying man’s eyes, his lips trembling with the effort not to let his disappointment show on his face. They compressed to a thin, red line and he blinked slowly to stem the tears pooling in his lashes. Oikawa gave his hand a firm squeeze. “I cannot forgive you,” he repeated, “but you have my word. He will have safe passage once this is over.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Akaashi melted into his lap with his relief. He had no breath left to speak, but Oikawa heard his thanks in the press of Akaashi’s fingers in his. They slipped from his grasp with a final sigh. Oikawa laid Akaashi back on the ground, closing his eyes with a steady hand. The other gripped the sword that had been discarded at his feet. That had been calculated too, Oikawa realized belatedly. Akaashi had known exactly what he was doing when he dropped it. Cunning bastard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mattsun finally pulled away from the wound, wiping his bloodied hands on his jacket. Tendou had freed Akaashi’s dagger from Ushijima’s shoulder and was frowning at it as if it had offended his ancestors. His eyes slid to the side to leer at the Seijoh men. His hand twitched, the barest indication of what he planned, and Oikawa and Matsukawa dove away from each other as he whipped the bloodied weapon through the air between them. It landed with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>thunk</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the wooden floorboards, just to the right of Akaashi’s head. With a roar, Tendou leapt after Matsukawa again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oikawa didn’t have time to make sure his quartermaster was able to defend himself. He trusted him regardless, but Ushijima loomed in the center of the room once again, demanding all his attention. “You are a fool, Oikawa. A fool who will succeed in nothing because you have chosen the wrong path.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m just getting started.” Oikawa cracked his neck from side to side, loosening muscles that had been tense for days. “My pirating days are far from over. I’ll defeat you, and avenge my fallen comrades.” He held Akaashi’s sword in front of him, awaiting Ushijima’s head-on attack. He had a promise to keep, after all.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <em>I would just like to let the record state that I actually absolutely adore Ushijima and making him the villain caused me immense personal pain.</em>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Battle Royale</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Warmth spread across Hinata’s back as he dodged bodies and bullets and blades. His burden was heavy, dead weight dying with every precious passing second, soaking Hinata’s armor as the life drained out of him. He wasn’t even sure the man would survive until someone could aid him, but the carved feather on Hinata’s neck burned and urged him forward. Oikawa was counting on him and he had a strong desire to prove himself worthy of the man’s trust. It wasn’t just that he needed Oikawa’s help to get off the island.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had questions. About pirates. About the ancient feud. About their own roles in it. About the totem hanging from his neck and how Oikawa came to be in its possession. He figured his chances would slim if his precious cargo died before they won their battle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If they won.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was also possible they could be overwhelmed and recaptured, or killed outright. He was sure he had already seen some glassy eyed corpses as he weaved through the chaos. He didn’t know any of their names, but he thought he recognized some from Oikawa’s crew. If they lost, Shiratorizawa would not let him live for long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Getting the first mate out of harm’s way came first. He couldn’t worry about helping the Seijoh crew before he had secured their officer in a safe place. He ran along the inside of the courtyard, hugging the eastern seawall, ducking stray bullets. He didn’t waste his breath on encouraging Iwaizumi to hang on. Either he would or he wouldn’t, and the only thing Hinata could control was how quickly he could get him out of the proverbial fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A chair came flying from across the courtyard and he had to leap backwards to avoid it smashing into them. Splinters flew from the impact with the wall, and he narrowly avoided getting a piece in his eye. He hoped none had stuck in the first mate. Some Shiratorizawa pirates spotted him and lunged at him with echoing primal screams. He tightened his grip on Iwaizumi’s legs and sidestepped them, his hands literally tied, unable to defend himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He kept dodging their blows, frantically scanning the small battlefield for something he could use, a path to escape, an ally to call to his aid. As if the ancestors heard his internal plea, his eyes met Kyoutani’s across an upturned cookpot. The fearsome pirate rushed in to protect his senior and his escort. Hinata hardly flinched as his blade drove through the throat of the first sailor. The second went down with a throwing knife sticking out of his forehead. Hinata spun around to track its path back to its owner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yahaba!” Kyoutani barked, as the brunet medic followed behind him a heartbeat later. “Get them out of here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Several more enemies started to close in on them. Yahaba eyed the blond with concern as he retrieved his dagger. “What about you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His answer came in a swift step and the swing of his blade as he intercepted a rival pirate’s sword, one intended for the distracted medic. “I’ve got your back. Go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yahaba gritted his teeth as he turned to lead the way for Hinata. “Don’t get yourself killed, asshole!” he shouted over his shoulder as they left Kyoutani to his fight. The feral grin on his face was answer enough. He wasn’t going to lose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They fought their way towards the main gate of the fort. Yahaba’s attacks were skilled, delivered with a cold precision that made Hinata grateful once again that he was on their side for the moment. He certainly did not want to be on the receiving end of Yahaba’s blade. He dodged around him while he was engaged with another enemy, continuing on his path out of the camp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hajime!” Suga’s voice called from across the battlefield. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief at the sound, but almost recoiled at the sight of the ashen-haired man. Blood caked his face and soaked his coat. Most of it wasn’t his and Hinata made a mental note never to cross the man. Suga jogged over to help, cutting down a Shiratorizawa man in his path, his eyes wide and fearful. “Is he–,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still alive,” Hinata confirmed, Iwaizumi’s pulse still fluttering weakly against his back, “But barely. We need to get him out of here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suga swallowed his panic, nodding and leading the way back out of the camp. Hinata glanced over his shoulder to check on his passenger–he was so pale–and to see if Yahaba was still trailing after them. The medic had gotten tangled up with the rival pirate, but his partner came to his aid again and barked at him to keep going. With Suga in front and Yahaba behind, they carved a path to the woods. Seijoh pirates swarmed in behind them to keep Shiratorizawa from following, and a few minutes later they found themselves in a secluded thicket away from the raging battle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Put him down,” Yahaba ordered, stripping off his coat as he did so. His pinched face revealed everything he wanted to hide. He was not optimistic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata knelt and let Suga carefully extricate Iwaizumi from his back. A soft whimper escaped into the still air, but it did not come from the injured man. “What did they do to you?” Suga’s voice wavered as he laid Iwaizumi flat on the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yahaba cursed. “He’s lost so much blood. I don’t know what–,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shigeru just do what you can,” Suga croaked, standing up. “They had medical kits in the tower, right?” he directed to Hinata.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It seemed like it.” He didn’t want to dash the man’s hopes. They had already stitched Iwaizumi up once. He had no way of knowing if there were any supplies left after that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep him alive as long as you can,” Suga said with all the authority his trembling voice could muster, knowing the order would be obeyed regardless. “We’ll get what you need.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll never make it through that bloodbath to get into the tower.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suga’s cinnamon eyes darkened as he stared down at the medic. “Watch them try and stop me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s right though,” Hinata interjected. He impressed himself by not wincing when that hardened glower turned on him. “You don’t know where it is in the tower, and I can slip in and out easier now that I’m not carrying a body.” Suga’s eyes flitted to Iwaizumi, conflicted. He flinched when Hinata gripped his shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. “Stay with him. You’ve already done enough and Yahaba will need your help in case others slip out looking for you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He deflated under the pressure of Hinata’s gaze and the storm clouds that had been brewing behind his eyes finally gave way to the rain. He turned his face away to wipe the errant tears before they could run ragged tracks through his blood-stained cheeks. “Okay,” he said, the crack in his voice barely audible. When he met Hinata’s eyes again it was with a hint of curiosity. “I don’t understand why you’re helping us Hinata, but I will owe you a great debt if you succeed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata beamed behind his mask. “Pirates are really cool! I want to get to know you guys better!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suga blinked, startled by the admission as much as by his smile. Yahaba grumbled something about “lunatic ninjas” but was too wrapped up in staunching Iwa’s wounds to say anything more. The wounded man groaned, snapping Suga out of his daze and drawing his attention to the ground. As Hinata turned and left back for the camp, he heard Iwaizumi grumble “Sorry Koushi” as Suga hushed him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow, Hinata had a feeling the man was too stubborn to die just yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could hear the shouts of men fighting, the clang of swords and occasional pop of a gun, as he got closer to the fort. He leapt and scaled the wall to get a better view of the courtyard below. From atop the wall he could see the chaos of the battle, the men laying dead or dying, scattered among the debris of broken barrels and tables from the fighting. His eyes scanned the combatants, seeking the familiar coif of chestnut hair. As if summoned by mere thought, Oikawa burst out of the tower proper, fully focused on his duel with the massive Shiratorizawa captain as he forced the man out into the courtyard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both men were drenched in sweat and covered in nicks and tears, but they seemed to be on even footing. Ushijima pressed back, trying to trip Oikawa up, but the Seijoh captain danced away to maintain his footing before coming in once more. Outside of their battle nothing existed to them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata couldn’t help him just yet. He had another mission to see to. Daylight was beginning to break and he would soon lose the cover of the shadows. He slipped back over the wall to the door he’d found earlier in the evening. The interior of the tower was eerily quiet compared to the fracas outside, the sounds of fighting distant in the stillness. He crept to the room he’d eavesdropped on, peering into it with an abundance of caution. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe everyone was outside in the battle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room was darker now with no patient to tend to, making it unnecessary to keep it lit. Lady Luck was really on his side tonight. Emboldened by the familiar comfort of darkness, he crept into the room, looking over the shelves and cabinets haphazardly for any sign of equipment Yahaba could use. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He swallowed a triumphant shout of glee when he found a suture kit under the table that had served as Iwaizumi’s sickbed when they stitched him up the first time. He found bandages and medicine too, though he only recognized a basic pain remedy among the various vials. Yahaba or Makki would probably have a better idea of what Iwaizumi needed in the long term, but for now they could stop his bleeding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tied up his bundle, strapping it to his back as he turned for the exit. His body went rigid when he sensed another man in the shadows. “And where do you think you’re going?” Shirabu’s wicked voice cut through the darkness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata raised his hands to the side of his head and turned slowly towards the disfigured man. “You know, I was looking for the bathroom and I think I got a bit turned around,” he quipped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nearly bit his tongue as he rolled to the table to avoid the pirate’s gunshot. The bullet ricocheted off the stone and shattered one of the vials along the wall. “Since when do ninja cavort with pirates?” Shirabu snarled, and Hianta wasn’t sure if he was more offended by the idea of a friendly ninja or a pirate crew that took the aid of one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s amazing what happens when you talk to people instead of just shooting first.” Another gunshot whizzed over his head, bouncing off the wall and embedding in the floor by his feet. “See, like that!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata darted around the table as the medic’s footsteps carried him to where he would have a clearer shot. Shirabu didn’t make it that far. There was a scuffle and the thunk of metal hitting the floor. Hinata dared to peer over the edge of the table. What he saw filled him with relief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Makki!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Seijoh medic had Shirabu in a chokehold, squeezing the air out of him until his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body went limp. Makki slumped to the floor with him in his arms, letting out a heavy sigh. “You alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata nodded. “Is he–?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shirabu’s a grade-A prick, but he’s an excellent surgeon.” Makki grunted as he rolled the man off him and dusted himself off. “Good medics are worth their weight in gold on a pirate crew. Shiratorizawa will need him when this is all over.” Hinata looked at the rival pirate more closely and saw the steady rise and fall of his chest. “Besides, contrary to what some people think, we don’t actually want to kill each other all the time.” He regarded Hinata with the same idle curiosity he’d had back in the cells, what felt like an eternity ago. “What brings you back here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Iwaizumi needs help,” he said, untying his bundle and pushing it at the pink-haired man. “Yahaba and Suga are with him, but he’s lost a lot of blood. I came to find anything that could help buy him some time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Makki sighed. “So we’ve come full circle, eh?” Hinata tilted his head to the side in question. “Never mind. I’ll take this back and help them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a back door,” Hinata explained, pointing to the hall he had used to sneak into the tower. “The outside of the fort isn’t guarded, especially with all of the fighting inside, you should be able to get back out to the woods without any trouble.” He gave further directions to how far and some landmarks he could use, but there was probably a decent trail of blood he could follow if he looked in the right places.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What will you do?” he asked, digging through the cabinet for additional salves and medicine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever I can,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Help Oikawa then,” Makki said. “Ushijima is a tough bastard; he’s never been able to beat him.” He threw a significant look over his shoulder at Hinata. “I think if he had some help though, he could take him down. His shoulder is already wounded. His attacks won’t be as powerful.” He tied the slightly fuller bundle to his sash and clapped a hand on Hinata’s shoulder. “I leave the captain to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata nodded. A heartbeat later they split off in separate directions. Makki left through the secret hallway while Hinata went back through the tower proper. The main room had been vacated as the fighting moved outside, but the busted furniture and blood-soaked floor told the story of what had already happened there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused in the middle of the room as he wondered just what exactly he planned to do. Oikawa wasn’t forcing him to fight, didn’t want him to kill pirates, rivals though they might have been. But if he didn’t fight, they might lose. Makki had said they’d never beaten Ushijima. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes caught something, someone, at the side of the room, distracting him from his thoughts. He almost scolded himself for his lack of awareness when he realized the person wasn’t breathing. He knelt next to Akaashi’s body, a twinge of sorrow tightening his throat. He had come to Seijoh’s aid knowing he would die, one way or another. Was this what it meant to be a pirate? Living and dying for your crew, your friends, your family? How were they at all different from the ninja, who also had occasional infighting between the clans but who were fiercely loyal to their own?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt the weight of the amulet on his neck again, threatening to drag him down. His family had cast him out. He had no right to the Mark anymore, but Oikawa had given him new hope, new wings. The crew of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aoba Johsai</span>
  </em>
  <span> hadn’t exactly welcomed him with open arms at first, but they had been open to accepting his help. He wasn't as alone as he feared. He couldn’t lose that so soon after finding it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He plucked the dagger from the floor and twirled it in his fingers. Akaashi had given up everything to save a friend. Hinata had nothing to lose, but everything to fight for. He tucked it into his boot and spun on his heel, dashing out into the dawnlit courtyard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blinked rapidly to adjust his eyes as he scanned the battle once more. He found himself once again impressed by the tenacity of the pirates, who had been fighting for close to an hour and barely showed signs of slowing down. They were fairly evenly matched, though Shiratorizawa seemed to be wavering overall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The captains’ duel had moved toward the center of the courtyard, their best men engaged in fights all around them like an intricate dance. Oikawa moved gracefully, his footwork steady even as Ushijima tried to overpower him with sheer force. The Shiratorizawa captain was indeed wounded, but he seemed to pay no mind to the bloody gash in his shoulder. His scowl was more anger than anguish. Oikawa’s jaw was set in a determined focus as he parried another of Ushijima’s strikes, looking for an opening, a crack in the rival captain’s armor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He found it when Ushijima’s eyes pulled away from Oikawa for the barest of moments, casting a furious glower over the Seijoh captain’s shoulder. Oikawa took advantage of his sudden distraction, planting his foot and striking at Ushijima’s injured shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata felt it before Ushijima broke his concentration. The spike of adrenaline that always accompanied the instinctual warning of danger. The same thing that had warned him pirates were seconds away from killing him when Oikawa and Akaashi had stumbled on him the day before. His senses had been on overdrive during the entire battle, hyper aware of the combatants at all times, but this was different. Potent. Imminent. He could feel it in his blood; Oikawa was in danger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sought the source of the feeling the same time Ushijima looked away from his battle. Across from them, behind Oikawa’s back, Tendou had broken free from his fight with Matsukawa. Time slowed as Hinata saw a blade slip from the Monster’s sleeve into his hand. His lips split into a feral rictus, his eyes wide and manic as he honed in on his prey. He snapped his arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata flew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had been renowned for his speed back at Karasuno, often confounding even his closest friends with how he could seem to be in two places at once. In the same instant Tendou revealed his blade, Hinata slipped Akaashi’s dagger from his boot. He flung it with deadly accuracy as he sprinted to protect the captain. He wasn’t quite fast enough to avoid taking the hit himself. Pain flared in his side as he tumbled into Oikawa, knocking the taller man to the ground and out of the path of the blade meant for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa snarled in frustration at the sudden interruption of his duel with Ushijima but blinked in confusion when he realized who was on top of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hinata?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata flashed a grin behind his mask, gritting against the burning cut in his side. He didn’t think it was deep, but it stung like a thousand nettles. “Hey Captain. Didja miss me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa’s brows furrowed. “What are you doing? Where’s Iwa?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Saving your life,” he said, looking back behind them to see the red-haired man splayed out on his back, eyes staring sightlessly at the sky. Oikawa followed his gaze, frowning at the sight of Akaashi’s dagger protruding from Tendou’s chest. “Guess you don’t have eyes in the back of your head, huh? Iwa’s with Suga and Yahaba, by the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa gripped his shoulders and pushed him up so they were in a seated position. “Why did you do that? This wasn’t your fight!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wasn’t it?” He tilted his head to the side, regarding Oikawa with curiosity. “We’re not so different, you know.” Fighting for your friends was something he understood, something ingrained in him since his childhood. It didn’t matter that he had only known the Seijoh crew less than a day. He hoped they could become friends. He would fight for that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ushijima groaned behind them, stumbling back to his feet after Oikawa’s last attack. He clutched at his bloody shoulder as he leered down at them. “You are wrong.” He grimaced as he raised his sword to point at his subordinate’s body. “That is what ninja do, Oikawa. They kill without thought. They must be destroyed. You throw your lot in with this one?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa’s fingers dug into Hinata’s arms as his face darkened. Hinata’s side throbbed as his pulse raced, wondering where the captain’s thoughts were drifting. A ninja had almost killed his first mate. Others had likely given most of his crew the scars they bore. His eyes burned a hole through Hinata’s chest armor, to where his totem hung over Hinata’s heart. He didn’t think Oikawa was a liar, but the fleeting thought that he’d taken the Mark as a trophy off a ninja he had slain in the past flitted across his mind. His breath caught in his throat when determined brown eyes met his.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A ninja didn’t take my first mate’s eye.” He lifted his eyes up to Ushijima, wrapping a firm, protective arm around HInata’s shoulder as he brought them both to their feet. The ease with which he picked him up sent a different sort of thrill through Hinata. He was short, sure, but he wasn’t small. “In fact ninja haven’t even done the majority of killing here at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ushijima’s face twisted with rage. Hinata hadn’t been sure the man could express any emotions. “Enough of this foolishness, Oikawa! The ninja must die!” He lunged forward, his arm swinging clumsily as blood trickled down his bicep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oikawa put himself between Ushijima and Hinata, capturing his blade once again. “Just accept defeat Ushiwaka,” he grunted with the effort of holding the mountain of a man back. “We’ve shed enough blood here, don’t you think?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you will not join me,” Ushijima snarled, “then you are of no use to me. You can die with him!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata and Oikawa shared a look and nodded. The ninja slipped around behind Ushijima, leaping up to wrap his arms around the man’s thick neck, much like Makki had done to Shirabu in the tower. Ushijima staggered, clawing at the ninja’s arms and leaving Oikawa open to deliver the final blow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This battle is Seijoh’s victory,” he declared, driving the hilt of his blade into Ushijima’s diaphragm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata felt the man crumple as the air was forced out of his lungs, and flipped off of him so he wouldn’t get crushed underneath him as he fell. He didn’t land as steadily as he would have liked, the wound in his side flaring to remind him he had not gone through this battle unscathed. He went down to one knee, waving Oikawa off as the captain moved toward him with concern. “I’m fine,” he insisted. “See to your men.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t have to call the end of the fight. Someone on Shiratorizawa finally looked over and saw Oikawa standing over Ushijima’s body and cried out the result for him. “They got the captain!” Someone else found Tendou’s body and announced that the Monster was dead, too. The rival pirates all dropped their arms as the fight went out of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A chorus of cheers went up from the Seijoh crew. Oikawa turned back to HInata with a tired smile. They had won.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Epilogue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the aftermath of the battle, Oikawa took charge of the Shiratorizawa surrender, sending the remaining crew back to their ship with enough supplies to see to their wounded and survive until they made port. They were still subdued by the loss of their friends, but seeing their captain still breathing kept them going. Shirabu glowered at Oikawa over Ushijima’s unconscious form as their longboat rowed back towards the <em> Shiratorizawa </em>, no doubt imagining all the ways he could cut Oikawa open and make him plead for death, but Oikawa couldn’t care less. He would be too busy stitching up Ushijima and his own crew for plots of revenge any time soon.</p>
<p>“Is it really wise to let them go?” Suga stood at his side, arms folded across his chest and face reflecting Shirabu’s scowl back as they grew smaller in the distance. “You know he’ll just try again.”</p>
<p>“As much pleasure as killing Ushijima would bring me,” Oikawa said with a twist of his lips that said just how much he would have enjoyed that, “removing one of the Great Captains from the Circle would cause too much upheaval right now. His death would create a vacuum of power that all the upstart ships from the outer isles would seek to fill.” He understood now just how precarious that balance was, especially given the light of Ushijima’s involvement in Fukurodani’s decline. He wondered if getting Kuroo back to Bokuto would really help bolster their relations.</p>
<p>Whoever he had been with Fukurodani, that man was dead. Oikawa had witnessed first-hand the brutality of Shiratorizawa’s Monster. If Tendou had been that vicious with Iwaizumi, a man he would have killed for his captain, Oikawa didn’t want to imagine the daily tortures Kuroo had undergone for two years to keep him subservient. He had just barely survived because he believed his friends would come for him, that Akaashi would save him. He had been devastated to learn of Akaashi’s death.</p>
<p>They’d left him on the ship during the fighting, at Akaashi’s insistence. “These last two years will have been meaningless if you die in this battle,” he’d said, according to Suga. He’d returned to the fighting fully prepared to give his life, either in defense of Seijoh, or at Oikawa’s hand, as punishment for his betrayal. Somehow, Kuroo hadn’t believed he would die.</p>
<p>Oikawa had agreed to let him back ashore after the battle was over and Shiratorizawa sent packing, so he could confirm for himself. He didn’t wail like Oikawa had expected. If it had been Iwaizumi or Suga or any of his crew, Oikawa was sure he would have screamed his own throat raw. By contrast, Kuroo’s grief was silent, detached. He carried Akaashi out of the tower, only whispering “I’m sorry,” over and over. He set Watari to keep watch, to make sure he didn’t wander too far or try to follow Akaashi to the sea’s embrace. </p>
<p>He had a promise to keep, after all.</p>
<p>“Besides,” he added, turning away from the retreating pirates and heading back to see how his own crew was faring, “he owes me a life debt now. He knows I could have killed him. <em> Should </em> have killed him. But having him in my debt will keep him from antagonizing us for at least a few years.”</p>
<p>Suga snorted as he turned to follow. “You seem awfully confident about that.”</p>
<p>“Why shouldn’t I be? My greatest rival has been defeated and is limping off with his tail between his legs because I, in my infinite mercy, allowed him to live. It will take him that long to build his crew again, find someone vicious enough to replace Tendou, never mind rebuild his reputation.” Oikawa allowed a petty grin to pull at his lips. “He lost to a ninja. There’s no greater dishonor in his simple mind.”</p>
<p>“He was already wounded from his fights with Akaashi and with you,” Suga pointed out. “I understand Hinata saved your life and may have tipped the scales in our favor, but you were still the one to deliver the final blow.”</p>
<p>Oikawa hummed absently. There were still things he wasn’t ready to divulge to his crew, not even Suga, particularly regarding the theories Ushijima spouted about his heritage during that farce of a negotiation. He wasn’t quite ready to accept it himself, that his trick of detecting ninja was related to a direct connection to them in his blood. He had never known a life outside of sailing, had never dreamed of becoming anything other than a famed pirate known by all. But he couldn’t deny he felt a sort of kinship for the odd ninja. Even now, he could feel him, faintly, to the north. </p>
<p>He wondered if Hinata could feel him too.</p>
<p>They passed a snarling Kyoutani who was trying to avoid Yahaba’s ministrations. He had a nasty gash on his forehead that the medic was trying to clean with a salve. Yahaba admonished him to sit still and stop fussing, but Kyoutani kept leaning away from the foul-smelling medicine. Oikawa grinned at the pair. “Now, now Mad Dog, listen to the nice doctor. We don’t want you coming out of this mess any uglier with a new scar.”</p>
<p>Kyoutani muttered something that sounded like “fuck off” but at Yahaba’s slap on his shoulder he said “Aye cap’n,” instead.</p>
<p>Suga stifled a chuckle as they continued back through the camp. Seeing Yahaba at work reminded Oikawa of another patient he was concerned about. The one who had brought them to this cursed island in the first place. “How’s Iwa-chan?” he asked conversationally, hoping the waver in his voice didn’t give him away.</p>
<p>“Hard to say,” Suga answered quietly. His shoulders were tense and his eyes were still puffy and red-rimmed like he’d been crying. “Makki is optimistic. Yahaba is less so, but he’s always been one to expect the worst and hope for the best. Between the apothecary Shiratorizawa had here and the surgical kits, they were able to stabilize him though.”</p>
<p>It was better news than he had hoped for. When Iwaizumi had blacked out just before Hinata and Matsukawa burst in to free them, Oikawa had been sure he was already dead. He slowed to a stop. Suga took a couple more steps before turning to see what had caught his attention. “Koushi, I owe you an apology.”</p>
<p>Suga had cleaned his face at some point after the fighting was done, though there were still occasional flecks of blood across his cheeks. Macabre freckles that shifted as his eyes narrowed at his captain. “Don’t,” he said. “If one more person tells me they’re sorry I will tie them to the anchor and drown them.”</p>
<p>Oikawa frowned. “I made a promise. That I would get him back in one piece.”</p>
<p>“If I had known you would take that to heart I wouldn’t have asked,” Suga sighed. “He’s still alive. That’s all that matters to me.” He tilted his head to the side, looking to the sky and tapping a finger along his chin as he considered something. His lips quirked up in a mischievous grin. “He’s gonna look so sexy with an eyepatch.”</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>Oikawa laughed in spite of himself. He wanted to wallow in pity and self-loathing for his failure to protect his best friend, for not keeping him from getting hurt, but he couldn’t. Not when Suga was Suga, bringing levity to the hardest day of their lives and keeping them both grounded. Not for the first time, he was grateful he had given them that final nudge towards one another. He didn’t know where he would be without either of them.</p>
<p>“He’s going to be insufferable,” he replied with a half-hearted groan. He threw his arm over Suga’s shoulder and leaned his head against the other’s. “You won’t let him be mean to me, right Kou-chan?”</p>
<p>“Oh he’s earned a few weeks of bullying you relentlessly after almost dying for you. Twice,” Suga teased. “I’m not saying shit. Captain,” he added as an afterthought.</p>
<p>Oikawa shrugged. They both knew Iwaizumi wouldn’t blame him for anything that had happened. He was too good for that. </p>
<p>Suga slipped out from under his embrace and waved as he returned to the tower. They had found some beds within and put the worst of the injured men in them. He hoped Makki wasn’t asleep on the floor after his long morning, but Suga would wake him and send him to bed if he was.</p>
<p>He took one more walk around the camp to check in with his crew, to make sure everyone was holding up just fine and find out who needed what. Most men were exhausted, drowsing or talking quietly amongst themselves while others slept nearby. No one was in dire need of him.</p>
<p>There was one person he hadn’t checked on yet. The familiar thrumming in his blood had been a steady constant for a whole day now. For years it had warned him of danger, but now he thought he might miss the gentle warmth after it was gone. He followed the pull as if he could see his pulse on a string, a flashing beacon leading him straight to the ninja that had kept his world from turning completely upside down while simultaneously throwing everything he knew about himself in doubt.</p>
<p>He found Hinata sitting under a tree at the edge of the beach, his vibrant orange hair dancing in the breeze off the bay. His chest armor was folded on the ground to his side, gloves and sword sitting atop it. He was bare to the waist, carefully wrapping a bandage around his middle. Oikawa felt another pang of guilt at forgetting Hinata had also been wounded during the fight. He looked up when he sensed Oikawa approach, and the pirate captain almost lost a step.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>Not only was Hinata’s startlingly toned torso exposed, Oikawa’s eyes widened at the sight of the ninja without his mask. His lips quirked in a knowing grin, amber eyes sparkling with mischief as Oikawa regained his composure enough to saunter casually to join him. “You must be feeling awfully comfortable here,” he quipped.</p>
<p>Hinata tied off the bandage with a slight wince. “It’s just you and your crew here,” he said, “and they already know my face. Seems kinda silly to try to hide from them.”</p>
<p>Oikawa blinked, surprised by that admission. “How do they know your face?” </p>
<p>“Suga wouldn’t trust me unless I showed my face.” He shrugged, slipping his arms into the sleeves of his undershirt. “I figured it’d save some time convincing the rest of the crew if they knew me, too.”</p>
<p>Oikawa could feel his lips pursing in a pout but didn’t bother to stop it. It just didn’t seem fair that he was the last to get a glimpse of their devilishly handsome ally. He shook his head to derail that particular line of thought. There were more important matters he had to discuss with the man.</p>
<p>“I should apologize,” he said.</p>
<p>Hinata tipped his head to the side, brows furrowing as he pursed his lips in confusion. It was just as charming as the first time he’d done it. Moreso, now that Oikawa could see his whole face. “For what?”</p>
<p>Oikawa clenched his fists at his sides. “We dragged you into our feud with Shiratorizawa. You got hurt, and had to kill a pirate against your wishes.”</p>
<p>“You didn’t ask me to,” he said, shrugging his vest onto his broad shoulders. How did Oikawa ever think he was small? “I made that decision on my own. Call it self preservation.” Amber eyes met his with a meaningful look. “If you had died, they would have killed me for sure. Besides, I’m...curious about you.”</p>
<p>Oikawa felt the heat of the midday sun on the back of his neck. That had to be why he felt warm. No other reason. </p>
<p>He planted his hands on his hips and bent towards the seated ninja, a smirk alighting on his lips. “Oh? Does chibi-chan have a crush on the great OIkawa-san?”</p>
<p>Hinata snorted into his hand, wincing again as the motion aggravated his wound. “Don’t flatter yourself,” he laughed. Oikawa didn’t miss the pink dusting his cheeks, though. “I mean about this.” His hand went to the obsidian feather at his neck. “I want to know why a pirate has a ninja totem. If there are others like us.”</p>
<p>Oikawa straightened and looked out towards his ship. He hadn’t known the heirloom was related to the ninja. Hinata’s reluctance to take the amulet the night before now made sense. “I have only ever known life at sea,” he said. “Ushijima said I probably have ninja blood, since I can usually detect them before they find me, but I don’t know what that means. It had never occurred to me that there was a hereditary element to being a ninja. Pirates can come from any walk of life, after all.” He regarded Hinata again with the curiosity he’d felt since their first baffling conversation. “You say you were exiled for not wanting to kill pirates. Are you the only one?”</p>
<p>Hinata finished dressing, picking up his sword and tying it in place on his back as he got to his feet. “That’s what I want to find out.” His mask was still loose at his neck, the feather resting lightly atop his armor. It suited him more than it had ever suited Oikawa. He didn’t want to part with either of them.</p>
<p>“You’re gonna need a ship to get off this island,” he said.</p>
<p>Hinata’s lips quirked in a teasing grin. “I might know someone with a ship.”</p>
<p>“Who said I would let you sail with me?” Oikawa narrowed his eyes, just as teasingly.</p>
<p>Hinata blinked, his grin faltering for the slimmest of heartbeats. “Who said I was talking about you?” He leaned in and smirked up at Oikawa. “Mattsun said I could stay and I’m pretty sure it’s his ship.”</p>
<p>Oikawa gaped at him. He knew he was being teased but the audacity of- “<em> Mattsun’s </em> ship?” he croaked. “I am literally the Captain!”</p>
<p>Hinata’s smirk turned into a genuine, beaming smile as he threw back his head in laughter. Oikawa’s heart rolled like the tide rushing in and he could only stare in wonder. Everything about Hinata shone, from this hair, to his eyes, to his smile. How did someone so bright come from the shadows? Did he even understand ninja at all?</p>
<p>He certainly wanted to understand this one.</p>
<p>“Fine,” he huffed in exasperation that wasn’t entirely faked. “Let’s go talk to Mattsun then and see if he’ll let a stray ninja on <em> his </em> ship.” He grimaced as the words left his mouth. Mattsun’s ship. Really.</p>
<p>Hinata fell into step beside him as they made their way back to camp, his presence warm and soothing and all-encompassing in the steady thrum in Oikawa’s veins. He smiled as they fell into easy banter on their return journey. His reputation had kept his crew safe from ninja in the past, but now it had brought a new ally. A ninja that wanted to sail with pirates.</p>
<p>How strange the currents one's life can take.</p>
<p>He didn’t know what the future held, but he did believe it was the start of a brand new adventure.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>And then they sailed off into the sunset WHEEE</p>
</blockquote>-For Cam ;)
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Woo! We made it! I hope you enjoyed it [and are not too mad at me (~人^)] and that it was worth the wait! Once again, a huge, <em>huge</em> thanks to everyone who has helped me through these last few months, and especially these final weeks, as I cried in DMs and stayed up way too late sprinting in discord.</p><p>Please, please, <em>please</em> leave me comments letting me know your thoughts! Come scream at me in <a href="https://twitter.com/anininjaspaz">dms</a>! And if you made it to the end, hit that kudos button! I love you guys! Can't wait to bring you new content soon! (After I sleep for 1000 years _(:3 」∠)_ lol)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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